The Raiders pulled off an impressive offseason with John Spytek in his first year as general manager of the team, but allowing Robert Spillane to leave for the New England Patriots is the one move that still feels like a misstep.
Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter talked this week about Spillane’s loss on and he didn’t mince words about the type of player the Raiders let get away in Spillane.
“It was devastating to the Raiders to lose Robert Spillane. I know for a fact, Robert wanted to stay here,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “I know this is where he wanted to be. And it ended up not happening. But Robert was an unquestioned leader on this team, a captain. He was Patrick Graham on the field. I cannot explain to you how big of a loss it was.”
After losing Spillane, the Raiders went after restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss, but the Patriots matched the Raiders two-year offer sheet and were essentially able to take two of Spytek’s top linebacker options for the 2025 season.
With Elliss returning to New England, the Raiders were able to sign 31-year-old Elandon Roberts who appears to be in line for a huge role in first season with the team.
On the bright side, Pro Football Focus analytics don’t view Roberts as much of a downgrade from Spillane in terms of production.
“Out goes Robert Spillane, and in comes Elandon Roberts,” Pro Football Focus’ analyst Ben Cooper wrote in March.
“The Raiders swapped out a now-$11 million-per-year player for a $3.01 million linebacker and arguably won’t see much of a drop-off in talent. Before joining the Raiders, Spillane never earned a 60.0-plus PFF overall grade in four seasons with the Steelers. He topped that figure in both of his years in Las Vegas. Roberts, who also comes from Pittsburgh, was the NFL’s third-highest-graded linebacker in run defense last season (91.0) but dealt with some coverage woes (49.6) — similar to what the Raiders got out of Spillane.”
Carpenter talked about Roberts on his podcast on Friday and said a member of the Steelers reached out to him when he learned the Raiders were in on the veteran linebacker.
“I don’t know Elandon personally, but I have close personal friends who know him super well and love him,” Hondo said.
“In fact, the moment I heard that the Raiders are even considering signing him was when someone in Pittsburgh texted me and said, ‘I think you guys are going to end up with Elandon and he’s a great guy.’ You’re going to love him.’ Elandon Roberts is a great addition. He’s a great leader. That’s a fact.”
x: @raidersbeat
Nice job Raider brass. Getting a comparable player at a cheaper price!