The New Orleans Saints have decided to bring back veteran running back Tim Hightower after losing the explosive Khiry Robinson this offseason. Hightower was mixed into the rotation towards the end of the season after Robinson suffered a season-ending injury.
He would go on to record 96 rushing attempts, three starts, four rushing touchdowns and 375 rushing yards while averaging 3.9 yards per carry. Those are surprisingly big numbers a former fifth round pick, and he produced them in only eight games. Hightower is 29 years old and has spent his five-year NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins.
Notably during his time with the Redskins in the 2011 season, Hightower suffered a torn ACL, which was followed by several serious infections that threatened to end his NFL career. He fought to return to the sport that he loved so much, and after four years, he finally has a shot at redemption.
The Saints have already released and re-signed Hightower twice in his career, and it seems as if he is finally sticking to a franchise. The big thing for Hightower is that he has not been a bell cow back at any point during his NFL career.
In fact, Hightower has only recorded 619 career carries, which is a ridiculously low amount after five seasons. His body should be able to handle a solid workload for a bit longer than your average 30-year-old. The Saints also needed Hightower because they need as much depth as they can find after losing Robinson to free agency.
Even if they kept the talented backup, Robinson suffered a brutal injury during the 2015 season, which may not be fully healed by the beginning of the new NFL season. The Saints currently have Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet, CJ Spiller and Marcus Murphy already at the running back position. Hightower has already proven to be more productive than most of the options on the roster, so a bigger role for him could be in the works.
Spiller was expected to bring a whole new dynamic to this Saints offense, but he has suffered from injuries for most of the time he has been with the club, crippling his ability to get on the field. Re-signing Hightower will add some much needed consistency to this run game and will allow a little added insurance if the franchise intends to keep Spiller for another season.
