The New England Patriots have a lot of salary cap space and linebacker Dont’a Hightower is a key part of their championship defense, so giving the franchise tag to Hightower seemed to be an easy move.

The Patriots are rarely predictable, and they threw a curveball into free agency by deciding to not give Hightower the franchise tag. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Hightower was informed he wouldn’t be given the tag, and he’ll test the free-agent market.

The Patriots are prudent with everything, and the estimated tag price at linebacker of $14.6 million is steep. But teams rarely want to lose key players, which Hightower clearly is, and New England will have more than $62 million in cap room (according to Spotrac’s estimates).

It won’t be easy to find a player as good as Hightower in free agency to replace him, if the Patriots can’t re-sign him. But the Patriots rarely seem affected by losing good players, like when they traded linebacker Jamie Collins last season and it didn’t bother them at all.

If Hightower goes elsewhere, his Patriots legacy is set. His tackle of Marshawn Lynch just before Lynch scored in Super Bowl XLIX set up Malcolm Butler’s dramatic game-winning interception on the next play. Hightower’s strip-sack of Matt Ryan was perhaps the most important play in New England’s unbelievable comeback in Super Bowl LI. But the Patriots have no room for sentimentality. They figured that Hightower wasn’t worth the amount of the franchise tag, and now Hightower might be moving on.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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