McDaniels on the Grit Robert Spillane Brings to the Raiders

The defense has been a priority for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason and that probably will continue going forward.

Inside linebacker Robert Spillane was one of those pieces the Silver and Black brought aboard in free agency.

Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels praised the former Pittsburgh Steeler for his grit and work ethic when he spoke at the NFL's Annual League Meeting last week.

“That's what he's like; he's a worker," McDaniels said. "We talked to a lot of the people who have coached him. Brian Flores coached him in Pittsburgh, and now he’s in Minnesota, but he said you're going to love this guy. He works every day extremely hard, good communicator, has worn the green dot before. Will we do that or not? I don't know yet. We'll figure that stuff out in due time. But toughness, downhill, there’s an element of pass coverage ability there, too.

"So we're going to let Rob kind of figure out exactly all the roles that he could play and just wanted another guy there who is younger, hungry, loves the idea of being a Raider, which was important to us to hear that from some guys. But Rob's one of those old school football players, who just wants to -- he wants to hit people. He's not going to mind if his mouth or nose is bloody a little bit, he just keeps playing football.”

Spillane registered a career-high 79 tackles with four tackles for losses (one sack), four passes defensed and two quarterback hits in 16 games (five starts) last season.

In his five years in the NFL thus far, Spillane has posted 191 tackles, 10 for losses (three sacks), eight passes defensed, five quarterback hits, a fumble recovery and an interception.

The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period began at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this offseason.

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