The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their second free agent of the offseason on Tuesday evening. The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly are signing linebacker Robert Spillane to a two-year contract worth 9 million dollars. Spillane had spent the last four seasons with the Steelers after coming over from the Tennessee Titans.
Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter JSKO_PHOTO)
With Spillane now signed elsewhere it now remains unlikely that any of the Steelers three free agent inside linebackers will return. Former first round pick Devin Bush is reportedly looking for a fresh start, and reserve special teamer Marcus Allen will likely move on, too.
Doug Kyed of AtoZSports broke the news of Spillane heading to Vegas. The deal will guarantee Spillane 4 million.
The #Raiders have agreed to terms with ex-Steelers LB Robert Spillane. It's a two-year deal worth a max of $9M with over $4M guaranteed, per source.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) March 14, 2023
While Spillane has been on the field quite often during the past four years with Pittsburgh, he's only managed to start 16 games. All of those games were due to injuries to starters. His most memorable season came in 2020 when he helped the Steelers beat the Ravens in Baltimore with an interception return for a touchdown. And then there was the hit on Derrick Henry that was felt across the NFL.
This is my favorite play from today. Robert Spillane running full speed into the gap to stonewall Derrick Henry from getting a TD. Dude has guts and he's tough as nails. There are not many people that can stop Henry like this. pic.twitter.com/9fNCEwvxmP
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) October 25, 2020
Steelers Market Drying Up At ILB
The market for inside linebackers continues to dry up after another flurry of players were signed today. Potential targets including David Long, Bobby Okereke, Alex Singleton, Kyzir White, and Azeel Al-Shaair are all off the market. A lot of these guys were signed for modest numbers. Long who was listed as the third best inside linebacker available by PFF went to Miami for two years 11 million. That's nearly the same amount of money Spillane received.
AP Photo/Don Wright
Steelers' Robert Spillane (top) and Alex Highsmith (bottom) sack Raiders' Derek Carr (#4) in Pittsburgh, PA
The Steelers addressed multiple areas today with the signings of Damontae Kazee, Larry Ogunjobi, and Nate Herbig. But they still have plenty of work to do. And signing an inside linerbacker or two needs to be on their list of things to do. As much as Mark Robinson seems like a beast, he's still very raw and needs time to continue to learn.
Who do you want the Steelers to sign for inside linebacker? Let us know in the comments below.
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