Patriots S Adrian Phillips (knee) and DT Christian Barmore (knee) are active for today's game against the Dolphins, after entering the day questionable. LB Dont'a Hightower is inactive with his own knee injury.

Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (ribs), LB Dont'a Hightower (ankle), LB Kyle Van Noy (groin) and DB Jalen Mills (thigh) are active for today's game against the Browns. They arrived questionable but have played through questionable tags for weeks.

These notable Patriots defenders who entered the weekend questionable are active for today's game against the Panthers: DT Christian Barmore (foot), DB Kyle Dugger (neck), Ja'Whaun Bentley (ribs), Dont'a Hightower (ankle), Kyle Van Noy (groin).

All the defensive starters New England listed as questionable for today's game against the Chargers are active. That includes LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (ribs), DB Kyle Dugger (neck), DT Davon Godchaux (finger), LB Dont'a Hightower (ankle), LB Kyle Van Noy (groin) and DE Deatrich Wise (knee).

The Patriots rolled out their usual list of questionable starters Friday, this time including LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (ribs), DB Kyle Dugger (neck), DT Davon Godchaux (finger), LB Dont'a Hightower (ankle), LB Kyle Van Noy (groin) and DE Deatrich Wise (knee). We'll check the status for all Sunday afternoon. All of those players put in limited practices all week.

As usual, myriad Patriots defenders wound up questionable for today's game against the Jets. LB Dont'a Hightower (elbow, ankle) is inactive. All other questionable defenders are active. They include: DT Davon Godchaux (finger), DE Deatrich Wise (knee), DT Christian Barmore (shoulder), LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (ribs), S Kyle Dugger (knee), CB Jalen Mills (hamstring), S Adrian Phillips (back) and LB Kyle Van Noy (groin).

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower is active for today's game against Washington. He missed last week with a shoulder injury and entered this week questionable. We'll see whether Hightower's return cuts into the playing time of Kyle Van Noy or Jamie Collins, each of whom played 100% last week. We're not adjusting our IDP outlooks for either player, though.

Patriots DL Michael Bennett is active for today's game against the Bills. He entered the day questionable with a shoulder injury and saw his snaps dip last week. LB Dont'a Hightower is inactive with his own shoulder injury. Neither should have factored into your IDP plans much, and Hightower's absence doesn't change the outlook for the New England team defense.

Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower (knee) is inactive for tonight’s game against the Bills. Hightower should not have been in IDP plans anyway.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) is active for today's game against the Panthers, his 1st action since the 1st half of the Week 1 loss to the Chiefs. It's tough to project Hightower's playing time in his return game, especially with his team favored by 9.5 points today. He makes for a risky IDP option at best. Hightower's return means that IDP owners shouldn't trust Elandon Roberts' playing time either. Kyle Van Noy was the only 100% playing-time LB in Week 1 (with Hightower active).

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) is questionable once again for Sunday's game against the Panthers. Get used to it if you hope to use him in IDP lineups. We'll check his status Sunday.

The Patriots have ruled LB Dont'a Hightower out for Sunday's game against New Orleans with a right knee injury. We'll see about his status heading toward Week 3, but Hightower's not worth owning in most IDP leagues at this point. It's the same knee that dogged him throughout the offseason, camp and preseason. The Patriots have also showed willingness in the past to bring him along slowly even when he's active.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower left Thursday night's game with a right knee injury after another player fell into the side of it. He could be seen riding the stationary bike on the sideline with a hot pad on the joint. The team announced that he's questionable to return. The right knee is the same spot that kept Hightower out of action until late August.

The Patriots on Tuesday activated LB Dont'a Hightower off the PUP list. He had been sitting out with a right knee injury. New England re-signed him in the offseason to a multi-year deal, however, which included $19 million in guarantees. According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, Hightower was always believed to be on track for Week 1. His return coincided with LB Elandon Roberts returning to practice after missing a few days with a rib injury. Roberts had been calling the plays and wearing the green-dot helmet on defense recently, but Hightower's the more likely candidate for that role if he's at full health. We'll see what the playing time looks like in the 3rd preseason game this weekend. Neither makes for a strong IDP candidate, but Hightower carries a high weekly ceiling when fully healthy.

The Patriots will open training camp with LB Dont'a Hightower on the PUP list. Hightower missed offseason workouts after dealing with knee and shoulder issues last season. The knee cost him 3 games and landed him on the injury report 8 times, but New England re-signed him in the offseason after the Jets and Steelers took seemingly serious looks at the vet. Durability has been a perennial issue for Hightower, who should continue to present more value to the Patriots than IDP owners when on the field. The team can activate Hightower from the camp PUP at any time.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Jets. It's a matchup that some New England LB could exploit for IDP value -- perhaps Shea McClellin -- but the fluid playing time makes it a tough situation to mine for your fantasy football lineup. The team D remains a strong play even without Hightower.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) and CB Malcolm Butler (hip) are active for today's game against the Broncos. Both entered the day questionable but should be fine to use at their normal IDP levels.

The Patriots have traded LB Jamie Collins to the Browns. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Cleveland's giving New England a 3rd-round compensatory pick. (The upcoming NFL Draft marks the 1st time those picks will have been tradeable.) Collins is in the final year of his contract, so New England clearly didn't believe it would re-sign the young LB. The trade also indicates that the Patriots figured the league compensatory-pick system would have given them something later than a 3rd-rounder for losing Collins. Thirdly, this suggests the team is happy with rookie LB Elandon Roberts, who has seen his role grow this season. Collins should start quickly for Cleveland. We'd guess he'll take over for veteran ILB Demario Davis. The Browns will also need to re-sign Collins to make this a worthwhile move. New England gets a Week 9 bye before a Week 10 game against Seattle. Dont'a Hightower figures to be the top Pats LB for IDP owners in that game and likely the rest of the way. Keep an eye on Roberts' role and production, however. The move takes a playmaker out of New England's defense, though FOX's Michael Lombardi pointed out that Collins has done more freelancing this year than the Pats would like. For now, we're not adjusting the team D's outlook.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) is active today against the Browns. That's no surprise after he played in Week 4, but he had been listed as questionable once again. Hightower's still a lower-level IDP option, though the Browns present attractive big-play upside.

Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower is active after missing the past 2 games with a knee injury. That should make him OK to use as you normally would in IDP leagues, given that Hightower has steadily increased his practice participation to this point. Of course, New England is consistently tough to predict. So use caution.