Robert Spillane has evolved into a reliable starter in Las Vegas, and the Raiders will likely look to retain the impending free agent. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, “it’s hard to imagine” that the organization wouldn’t make the linebacker a priority this offseason.
Following a brief cameo with the Titans, Spillane spent several seasons with the Steelers, collecting 191 tackles while starting 16 of his 50 appearances. He inked a two-year deal with the Raiders during the 2023 offseason and quickly established himself as one of the team’s most productive defenders.
Spillane finished his first season in Las Vegas with 148 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three interceptions. He’s carried that production into 2024. Through 10 starts, the linebacker has compiled 97 tackles, one sack, and one pick. Pro Football Focus currently has Spillane ranked 37th among 82 qualifying linebackers, with the site giving him one of the highest positional grades for run defense.
While Spillane was signed under the former McDaniels/Zieger regime, it sounds like current coach Antonio Pierce and GM Tom Telesco would welcome back their starter. It will surely cost more to sign the linebacker this time around, but the organization may have no choice but to pony up. As Tafur notes, the Raiders lack reliable depth at the position. Former third-round pick Divine Deablo has started all 30 of his appearances over the past two-plus years, but he still lacks the consistency to lead the LBs room. Tafur notes that the organization is also high on fifth-round rookie Tommy Eichenberg, although it’d be unrealistic to expect the linebacker to start as a sophomore.
He was awful in Pugh
Spillane numbers look pretty good for his time in Pitt, and he is clearly excelling in Vegas. At both stops he has had outstanding outside support with Watt and Crosby.
What do you think accounted for his awful performance? Was it the coaching or maybe the scheme? Pitt did go through a change in D-Cord along with players as they were trying to see if Bush was a fit. Was Spillane out of place and missing assignments, or being lazy and not putting forth any effort?
Just curious.
He put plenty of effort on that goal line hit on Derrick Henry. But in all seriousness Spillane was an excellent downhill run stopper as a Steeler. I don’t follow the Raiders so I can’t say how they use him differently than Pittsburgh but the Steelers typically don’t rush or blitz middle linebackers very much. Lot of zone cover schemes or running with tight ends or receivers on crossing patterns which wasn’t ideal for his skillset. Also played next to Devin Bush most of his time in Pittsburgh which probably made him look a bit worse to the eye test. I wouldn’t say he was awful and thought he was solid as a rotational piece but just asked to do more than he was capable of at times. Good for him to establish himself as a starter and hope he gets a decent paycheck in free agency.
Excellent
I thought him playing behind Bush might take away from his strengths. He is more of a center piece for the Raiders and his nose is at the line directing traffic.