What signing Robert Spillane in free agency means for the Patriots

Spillane signed a three-year contract to join the Patriots.

The New England Patriots opened their free agency shopping spree on Monday by investing in a position that failed to live up to expectations in 2024. Robert Spillane, a former rookie free agent who spent time in Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, was brought in on a three-year deal with a base value of $33 million.

Spillane adds plenty of quality and experience to the second level of New Englands’s defense. Let’s find out what else the signing means for the team.

Need addressed

Losing starter Ja’Whaun Bentley to a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 2 proved to be a major blow to the Patriots’ linebacker group last year. The unit was unable to properly adjust, with fellow starter Jahlani Tavai struggling in a more prominent role and none of the backup options truly emerging.

Even though Bentley is set for a return, the position therefore was a definitive area to address during the offseason. The Patriots, who had previously also extended an RFA tender to Christian Elliss, wasted no time doing just that in free agency: they brought Spillane aboard within an hour of the legal tampering period opening.

The team has high hopes in him as a fit for its new-look defensive system, and for good reason, but signing the 29-year-old alone will not get New England’s linebacker group back on track. For that to happen the rest of the depth chart also needs to rise up.

Much-needed clarity

Speaking of the Patriots’ off-the-ball linebacker room as a whole, it now stands at seven players deep via our up-to-date roster:

Linebacker (7): Ja’Whaun Bentley (8), Robert Spillane (–), Jahlani Tavai (48), Christian Elliss (53), Curtis Jacobs (52), Monty Rice (45), Andrew Parker Jr. (47)

Among those seven players, Spillane obviously is a lock to be on the roster in the fall. As for the other six, they are all facing major questions heading into 2025.

Will Ja’Whaun Bentley return to form in a new system? Will Jahlani Tavai do the same in what projects to be a more specialized role? Will they even be part of the mix to begin with? And how about the lower-level ‘backers, including the aforementioned Christian Elliss?

As with the defense as a whole, there are a lot of moving parts at linebacker as well. There is at least one certainty, though: Spillane will be a big part of the proceedings moving forward, regardless of what will happen around him.

Old-school vibes

One day after signing one of the best run-stopping edge defenders in the NFL in Harold Landry, the Patriots followed it up with an old-school linebacker who has shown a willingness to get his hands dirty. Spillane is a hard-nosed player who shoots downhill quickly and is not afraid of collisions; give him a neck roll and put him in the Pat Patriot uniform and you have a throwback straight from the 80s.

Using the old analogy, he is usually the hammer rather than the nail. It is why plays like this one are not a rare occurrence on his tape:

Spillane does not just have the right mindset to succeed as a run defender, he also combines it with some good vision and instincts; he takes good angles against ball carriers or blockers by staying disciplined with his pad level and knowing how to use leverage to his advantage.

Frankly, you don’t register 49 and 53 solo tackles in the run game in back-to-back years by accident.

For as good a run defender as he is, Spillane has some shortcomings as a coverage linebacker. While not a liability by any stretch, his lack of a high-end athletic profile — he scored a 1.96 out of 10 Relative Athletic Score before the 2018 draft — has put him in challenging situations, the Patriots might want to avoid.

According to charting by Pro Football Focus, he surrendered 55 catches on 65 targets in 2024 (84.5%) for 572 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Knack for the football

Speaking of interceptions, Spillane has shown a talent for being around the football.

In his two seasons as a starter with the Raiders, he registered five combined interceptions — tied for second among all NFL linebackers over that span behind only San Francisco 49ers standout Fred Warner (6). He also forced and recovered one fumble each, and registered 5.5 sacks.

A lack of turnovers was a big problem for New England’s defense recently. The unit had just 12 takeaways in 2024, tied for 30th in the league. A year prior, its 18 ranked 23rd.

Turnovers are not always reflective of a unit’s talent, but adding a player like Spillane should definitely help. He has shown he can be in the right place at the right time by being quick to the ball, disguising his coverage drops well, and knowing how to turn his head around.

Leadership considerations

Besides being on the field for 97.7 percent of the Raiders’ defensive snaps the last two seasons and being one of their better players on that side of the ball, Spillane also left his mark with his leadership. He was voted a captain in each of his seasons with the club, and therefore seems like a clear fit for a Patriots team trying to rebuild its culture.

With 2024 captain Jacoby Brissett headed for Arizona and fellow captain Deatrich Wise Jr. possibly departing in free agency as well, adding a player of Spillane’s résumé both on the field and in the locker room is a good investment.