‘This Could Be Your Story’: Mike Tomlin Used LB Robert Spillane As Example For Young Backups

Injuries are unfortunately a large part of the National Football League. Every team has to deal with them, and a well-stocked position group can turn into a M*A*S*H unit in a hurry. As Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin often says, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. For the current Steelers, that rings true for the outside linebacker group.

Alex Highsmith has been out with a groin injury, DeMarvin Leal was sent to IR with a neck injury, and Nick Herbig injured his ankle last week. That left T.J. Watt on the left and a combination of Jeremiah Moon, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, and Eku Leota on the right. Two of the three are former undrafted free agents.

Playing against the Las Vegas Raiders today, they went to battle against a familiar face in ILB Robert Spillane. The former UDFA made his way onto the Steelers’ active roster in 2019 after bouncing on and off the practice squad and went on to be a major contributor. He played in 50 games over four seasons with the Steelers and registered 16 starts. With the Raiders last year, he broke out with three interceptions, 148 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and seven tackles for loss while being a team captain in his first year with the franchise.

During the broadcast of the Steelers-Raiders game, CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn described how Tomlin used Spillane’s story to motivate his unheralded players.

“Robert Spillane, who you mentioned, spent some time in Pittsburgh — actually came up early in the week in Mike Tomlin’s meeting to the team,” Washburn said via CBS’s broadcast. “He put Spillane’s story up on the screen to let the guys know that were stepping in that this could be your story. You could make a name for yourself in this game.”

As an undrafted free agent, Spillane would have been making a pretty modest salary by NFL standards. Now he is wrapping up a two-year deal that paid him almost $3.3 million dollars in base salary, $1.6 million in a signing bonus, and millions more in various bonuses and incentives. According to Over The Cap, his 2024 valuation is $11,416,000, so he is set up to cash in even further on his recent success. If that doesn’t motivate a player, I don’t know what will.

Spillane opened up last week and spoke about the chip on his shoulder playing against the Steelers, saying “they had a chance to bring me back.” He had eight tackles and one pass defensed in the Steelers’ 32-13 win.

So guys like Moon, Leota, Ogundeji, and even Beanie Bishop Jr. have a tangible example to look to as they continue their NFL journeys. I suspect they will have another example pretty soon with RB Jaylen Warren soon to cash in on his success as an undrafted free agent.