New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots will be without star cornerback Christian Gonzalez in Week 1 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.
New England will need defenders like veteran linebacker Robert Spillane to step up in order to start the season off on the right foot.
Patriots reporter Chad Graff revealed “10 bold (and not so bold) predictions” for the campaign on Friday and one of them involves Spillane. The senior writer for The Athletic foresees the offseason signing leading the NFL in tackles in 2025.
“Since the start of the 2022 season, Spillane has the second-most tackles in the NFL. But he hasn’t yet led the league. Until now,” Graff wrote. “The linebacker has been everywhere in summer practices and will play behind a defensive line that probably won’t be hogging too many tackles for themselves, so look for Spillane to rack up some big numbers this season.”
Spillane could have some extra motivation on Sunday, as he spent the last two seasons with the Raiders.
After one season with the Tennessee Titans and four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers to begin his career, the Western Michigan product signed with Las Vegas in March 2023.
Spillane recorded career highs in quarterback hits (four), sacks (3.5) and interceptions (three) that season and had another big campaign in 2024, registering career highs in tackles (158), tackles for loss (10) and passes defended (seven). Spillane’s 158 takedowns were tied for the third-most in the NFL last year.
He inked a three-year, $33 million contract with New England in March and is expected to be one of the team’s defensive leaders this fall.
