The New England Patriots weren't afraid to hand out massive deals in free agency this spring. Since head coach Mike Vrabel arrived, the Pats have surrounded him with plenty of players to improve the roster. They spent over $280 million in free agency, and linebacker Robert Spillane was one of the players to land a nice contract.
In March, Spillane and Pats agreed on a three-year, $33 million deal that featured $26 million in guarantees. Since officially inking that deal, Spillane has been earning that contract and appears poised for a big role immediately.
Robert Spillane Looks Like a Great Addition for Patriots
During an OTA practice, team website writer Evan Lazar wrote, "Free-agent addition Robert Spillane was flying to the ball in Wednesday's session and was on the scene three times for 'tackles' near the line of scrimmage. Spillane was so quick to the ball in some instances that I wondered if he was in the offense's huddle."
Spillane kept up his strong spring in minicamp, where he got more praise from Lazar. In June, Lazar wrote, "Spillane's instincts, processing, and motor make him a nice pairing behind a playmaking defensive line. The communication seemed good as well, with Spillane possibly wearing the green dot."
This is the exact kind of info that fans want to be reading ahead of training camp. Linebacker Ja'whaun Bentley was released by New England in March after spending seven years with the team.
They needed another veteran force and contributor in the middle of the field. Spillane is someone who has a connection with Vrabel, who signed him as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans in 2018.
Since that stint together, Spillane has developed into a quality starter in this league. In 86 career games (50 starts), he has recorded 497 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, 8.5 sacks, 19 pass deflections, and six picks.
He's coming off the best year of his career, where he secured a career-high 158 total tackles with the Raiders, with a 68.4 overall grade (66th among 189 graded linebackers) and an 87.3 run-defense grade (8th among 189 graded linebackers), per Pro Football Focus.
The Western Michigan product is slated to play a big role for this defense, and he wasted no time showcasing why the Patriots gave him that deal in free agency.