Patriots News: Dont'a Hightower Excited to Play Against Tom Brady in Week 4

One 2021 NFL matchup that everyone already seems to have circled on their calendar is the Week 4 showdown between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Patriots' linebacker Dont'a Hightower recently explained his excitement to face his former teammate Tom Brady.

Patriots News

Hightower opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns, but he is back and ready to take over his leadership role on this New England defense. The 31-year-old playmaker is a big addition to head coach Bill Belichick's roster and will play a major role in that Week 4 game.

"It's going to be good to see 12 again. I've been going against him in practice for so long, I'm looking forward to playing against him."

- Dont'a Hightower

However, that doesn't mean the 31-year-old linebacker will be taking it easy on the Bucs' QB. In fact, Hightower shot down any ideas of turning it down a notch.

"Oh, you mean, like, 'soft sacking' him? Nah, you can't do none of that stuff with him, man. He's trying to throw touchdowns."

- Dont'a Hightower

The Patriots will be looking to improve on its average of 353.8 yards allowed per game in 2020, which ranked No. 14 amongst NFL defenses. It'll definitely be easier to accomplish with the return of Hightower, someone who has racked up 505 tackles and 25.5 sacks over the course of eight NFL seasons (102 games played).

This development only adds to the hype that is constantly surrounding this matchup. The buildup is only just starting and it'll be interesting to see if any other players speak out about the game.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.