ILB Robert Spillane was not re-signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers during the previous offseason, as they chose to sign other free agents.
They later signed Kwon Alexander in addition to Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. While healthy, its nucleus performed admirably, but that was short-lived.
Spillane joined the Las Vegas Raiders in the meantime and is quickly becoming a mainstay there. In 2023, Spillane recorded a season with 148 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three interceptions.
His teammates also named him a captain. He finally became a full-time starter with 1,101 snaps, nearly double his previous career high.
However, his first career start in 2020 stands out as the moment for which he is most known to date.
Hurt, forcing him into the starting lineup against the Tennessee Titans, the team that had cut him initially. Abruptly, he was asked to confront 247-pound running back Derrick Henry in the goal line hole.Spillane was stopped, but he was still affected. “I still experience that now.
Half of me, I swear, moved somewhere. He only half-joked recently on Raiders teammate Maxx Crosby’s The Rush podcast, saying, “Like, it disappeared.”
However, it seems that this is not the end of the story, as he had to return to the field.
“I wasn’t ready for that. I was originally unaware of what had transpired since Cam Heyward had grabbed me by the jersey’s back. “Oh sit, Spillane’s sleeping, get him off the field,” he exclaimed. Spillane recounted, “He literally throws me off the field.”
Put differently, he was taken aback. It is probable that he is hinting at a potential head injury.
According to the regulations in place today, a player must be treated as though he had a concussion right away if he shows any signs of a head injury.
He literally pointed to a different cause because he knew he couldn’t afford that.
“You’re done for the game at that point if you run off the field looking wobbly,” Spillane stated.
“I exit the field and tap my shoulder.” “Sir, your shoulder is fine,” they say after checking. I apologize; it just took me a while to get over that.
The Titans ultimately scored a touchdown on that drive, something that many may not recall.
In fact, Tennessee missed a 56-yard game-tying field goal, and it was the only reason the Steelers managed to win by a tiny margin.
Spillane did, however, manage to get back into the game as he returned to play the most of the last drive.
He remembered that as one of his “welcome to the NFL” moments.
“Your first professional start, a chance to face the team that waived you two years ago. I bolted from the pack. I predicted that it would be a third-and-one; pass it to Derrick Henry.
I gave the play my all during that opportunity. He benefited greatly from it since it made him well-known.
It’s the first item that Crosby claims he found while searching for his new Pittsburgh-based teammate, Robert Spillane, on Google. Since then, his career has only developed further.
He is now a captain and an every-down player for a squad whose new head coach, Antonio Pierce, has much experience with linebackers.
