Hightower will not participate in the Pro Bowl due to an undisclosed injury.
Hightower's health concern didn't prevent him from playing 97 percent of defensive snaps during the wild-card loss to Tennessee, during which he notched nine tackles (eight solo). There's not yet any reason to believe that the 29-year-old is in danger of missing the beginning of New England's offseason program. Buffalo linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been named to the Pro Bowl in Hightower's stead.