Patriots’ Anfernee Jennings, Kyle Dugger lean on opt out players Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung for advice
"Any time he chimes in, I'm definitely always listening."
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Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung are two of eight New England Patriots players who opted not to play during the 2020 NFL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both citing family health concerns.
Hightower opted out in July, saying he didn’t want to risk his family’s health after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first son. Chung opted out in July as well, saying in an interview on “CBS This Morning” that he wanted to protect his 9-year-old son who has asthma, as well as his pregnant girlfriend and 75-year-old father.
But both Hightower and Chung have stayed engaged with the team. Earlier this season, rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings said Hightower is often in contact, joking that Hightower makes him watch film from “probably before I was born.”
“We talk all the time,” Jennings said in October. “He kind of watches the game and kind of gives me some feedback on what I should have done or could do better and stuff like that. Just trying to be another tool for me to continue to learn and grow [from] and understand the game. Still trying to be a sponge and soak it all up and I’m always looking to get better.”
According to Jennings, the duo still speaks often as the regular season moves into the home stretch. Hightower, who was drafted by the Patriots in 2012, has been a valuable resource for Jennings as he adjusts to the NFL.
“Our relationship wasn’t temporary,” Jennings told reporters via a video call on Monday. “It’s going to be a constant relationship, and I look forward to working with him eventually. But any time I have anything I want to talk to him about, or anything that he wants to speak to me and give me knowledge about, he don’t hesitate to hit me up and I don’t hesitate to hit him up. So yeah, we talk, and we have a relationship. Guys like Ja’Whaun Bentley and John Simon, [Lawrence Guy], those guys also have been great mentors in my development as a rookie. I can’t leave them out. But Dont’a, he has always been there for me.”
Meanwhile, defensive back Kyle Dugger has kept in touch with Chung, who would have been in his 11th season with the Patriots this year. According to Dugger, Chung told him to be patient in coverage and use his physical tools whenever possible.
“He definitely still chimes in and helps out, gives a lot of tips and things to look for when going into a game,” Dugger said on Tuesday. “So any time he chimes in, I’m definitely always listening and trying to pick up whatever he’s telling me.”
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