The 2020 Pro Bowl will go on without New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower.
Hightower, ruled out due to injury, has been replaced on the AFC roster by Tremaine Edmunds of the Buffalo Bills, the organization announced Thursday.
Hightower started 15 games and played 71 percent of New England’s defensive snaps during the regular season. The 29-year-old Alabama product recorded 71 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four pass deflections along the way to earning his second career Pro Bowl selection.
The first selection arrived during Hightower’s second-team All-Pro campaign of 2016.
Hightower was one of three Patriots named to the Pro Bowl in December, alongside Stephon Gilmore at cornerback and Matthew Slater on special teams. Both of whom were voted first-team All-Pros by the Associated Press and to the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-NFL team.
And Gilmore, the 2019 PFWA Defensive Player of the Year, is scheduled to participate in the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown leading up to the exhibition, according to the league’s release.
Kickoff at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., is set for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 26.