By most accounts, the Raiders have put together a solid offseason under first-year GM John Spytek, but one move that didn’t resonate the best was the loss of Robert Spillane.
Along with Maxx Crosby, Spillane had become the heart of the defense in Las Vegas, and it was a little bit of a surprise when the Raiders let him leave for the Patriots.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur talked about Spillane’s departure, and he believes it’s the one move in free agency the decision-makers in Vegas would like to have back.
“Right now the linebackers [on the Raiders roster] just aren’t very good and I think they should have overpaid Spillane. I think overall the philosophy of not overpaying players is good and I think they did a pretty good job. But then in this one instance, when you have the cap space, knowing that the linebacker class was going to be so weak, I thought they should have overpaid Spillane and just got it done or whatever it took,” Tafur said on the Just Win podcast.
“They don’t want to admit this, but I think in hindsight, maybe looking back now, maybe they wish they had. I think what happened… the first bit of free agency hits, and obviously the Patriots did their homework… and it seemed like a really big number. It is a big number, but maybe there was some sticker shock and maybe you think you can make all your moves in free agency,” Tafur continued.
“Obviously, they wanted not spending that much money for agency. So I think looking back, they probably wish they had done it, but I think at the time they thought was too much money. I think people would be a lot higher on this team and a lot more confident about this defense if they had [Spillane]. I think that looking back, maybe you do pay that price.”
If anything, it sounds like the Raiders misjudged the market a little on Spillane because it was no secret they wanted to have him back.
Looking ahead, Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz talked about that dynamic being a little concerning as the Raiders head into the 2025 draft.
“I get a little concerned, because one of the most important things you have to be able to do in the NFL Draft, for example, nobody did well last year when it came to Michael Penix Jr., is you got to predict the board,” Fitz said last week on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate.
“Teams do a really good job of studying other teams just to try and figure out, ‘Okay, who do we believe will be available?'” Ftiz continued. “‘How do we shape our board around some of what we think other teams are going to do?’ I don’t love it hearing Spytek and Carroll being so open about misjudging the market, because… part of your job is to kind of understanding what the market is going to be.”
And finishing the trifecta on the Spillane situation was Sports Ilustrated insider Hondo Carpenter two weeks ago when asked if the Raiders have made any mistakes to this point in the offseason.
Hondo didn’t hesitate to point to the loss of Spillane.
“Yes, the not signing of Robert Spillane… I think that was a horrific mistake,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “But the ability to get a land in Roberts was big and at the price they got him for.”
“Signing Spillane for what he got with his other team would not have been overpaying for him,” Hondo continued. “I know there was a lot of regret in the building. Not finger pointing like ‘Spytek, you screwed up’ or anything like that, but there was a lot of disappointment in that building by a lot of people when they lost [Spillane]. I think Elandon Roberts was a great signing that nullifies the pain.”
Ultimately, the end will justify the means, so it will be interesting to see what the Raiders do at linebacker between now and the start of the season.
x: @raidersbeat
Spillane was a two down backer, they’ve already found a replacement by signing the Steelers LB and at a cheaper price. Good luck to Spillane, but he wasn’t a big loss.
OMG!!!
I was absolutely shocked that the Raiders allowed Spillane to leave.
This move makes me fear that nothing has changed with this organization. This guy was the unsung hero of the defense. All the credit went to Crosby.