Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane has found a new home, as he’s agreed to a new contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Doug Kyed of atozsports.com. Spillane agreed to a two-year contract worth up to $9 million with $4 million in guaranteed salary.
Spillane joined Pittsburgh in 2019 after a two-game stint with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. The former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan accumulated 191 tackles, three sacks and eight pass deflections in his Pittsburgh career. Last season, he started five games, and he made 16 career starts for the Steelers during his four-year tenure with the black and gold. He had 79 total tackles, a career-high, and four pass deflections for Pittsburgh last season. Spillane also had one career interception, a pick-six that opened up a Pittsburgh win over the Baltimore Ravens in 2020.
A sure tackler, Spillane routinely struggled in coverage but to see him leave Pittsburgh is a surprise. The contract he got from Las Vegas was likely a little too rich for Pittsburgh, especially with the team hoping Mark Robinson can fill a similar role in the next year or two. In Las Vegas, Spillane will join a Raiders linebacker core that may lose Denzel Perryman to free agency. While Spillane wasn’t a primary starter, he got a lot of reps for Pittsburgh last season, playing 59 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, and he stepped up late in the season.
The departure of Spillane leaves a massive hole at inside linebacker as the Steelers only players under contract who played for the team last season are Myles Jack and Robinson. Jack is a potential cut candidate, but with the inside linebacker room so thin, it would be a surprise to see him depart Pittsburgh at this point. Expect Pittsburgh to address the position via free agency, the draft, and potentially both avenues.
The team was able to quickly replace cornerback Cameron Sutton yesterday by agreeing to terms with veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, so we’ll see if they have a quick replacement plan for Spillane. One possible option still on the market is Rashaan Evans, who has played for the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons and was linked to the Steelers pre-draft in 2018. The team could bring back Devin Bush, although that seems highly unlikely given that Bush was benched down the stretch in 2022.
