Accidents are sadly a big a part of the Nationwide Soccer League. Each workforce has to cope with them, and a well-stocked place group can flip right into a M*A*S*H unit in a rush. As Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin typically says, one man’s misfortune is one other man’s alternative. For the present Steelers, that rings true for the surface linebacker group.
Alex Highsmith has been out with a groin damage, DeMarvin Leal was despatched to IR with a neck damage, and Nick Herbig injured his ankle final week. That left T.J. Watt on the left and a mixture of Jeremiah Moon, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, and Eku Leota on the correct. Two of the three are former undrafted free brokers.
Enjoying towards the Las Vegas Raiders immediately, they went to battle towards a well-known face in ILB Robert Spillane. The previous UDFA made his manner onto the Steelers’ energetic roster in 2019 after bouncing on and off the observe squad and went on to be a serious contributor. He performed in 50 video games over 4 seasons with the Steelers and registered 16 begins. With the Raiders final yr, he broke out with three interceptions, 148 whole tackles, 3.5 sacks, a compelled fumble and 7 tackles for loss whereas being a workforce captain in his first yr with the franchise.
Through the broadcast of the Steelers-Raiders sport, CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn described how Tomlin used Spillane’s story to inspire his unheralded gamers.
“Robert Spillane, who you talked about, spent a while in Pittsburgh — truly got here up early within the week in Mike Tomlin’s assembly to the workforce,” Washburn stated through CBS’s broadcast. “He put Spillane’s story up on the display screen to let the fellows know that had been stepping in that this could possibly be your story. You might make a reputation for your self on this sport.”
As an undrafted free agent, Spillane would have been making a fairly modest wage by NFL requirements. Now he’s wrapping up a two-year deal that paid him nearly $3.3 million {dollars} in base wage, $1.6 million in a signing bonus, and hundreds of thousands extra in numerous bonuses and incentives. In keeping with Over The Cap, his 2024 valuation is $11,416,000, so he’s set as much as money in even additional on his current success. If that doesn’t inspire a participant, I don’t know what is going to.
Spillane opened up final week and spoke concerning the chip on his shoulder taking part in towards the Steelers, saying “that they had an opportunity to deliver me again.” He had eight tackles and one move defensed within the Steelers’ 32-13 win.
So guys like Moon, Leota, Ogundeji, and even Beanie Bishop Jr. have a tangible instance to look to as they proceed their NFL journeys. I think they’ll have one other instance fairly quickly with RB Jaylen Warren quickly to money in on his success as an undrafted free agent.
