Today the most talked-about man in 24 hours with the Pittsburgh Steelers media met with them on Zoom. Spillane went to Western Michigan and was undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. He originally tried to get onto the Minnesota Vikings but failed to sign with them. Then he got to try out with the Tenessee Titans where he made the team. Robert was then released by the Titans and signed to the Steelers practice squad. He was promoted to the Steelers 53 man roster. Devin Bush, unfortunately, tore his ACL against the Browns Sunday and is having season-ending surgery. Spillane filled in right away with the play calling for the Steelers and had a solid performance against the Browns. He had two big tackles during the game and ended up with 5 solo tackles with 1 assist.
"I've come such a long way from those moments," Spillane said. "If I go back a week before that tryout in Nashville, I had a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings. That didn't go as planned. I wasn't signed, and I didn't have anything lined up for that next weekend. I didn't get a call until Thursday from the Tennessee Titans, asking if I would get on a flight early the next morning to come down for their rookie minicamp. I went out there, and I knew what needed to be done to make that 90-man roster. I just put my head down and worked, and I haven't stopped yet."
Cam Sutton said Robert Spillane took over play-calling instantly when Bush went down and he doesn't expect that to change at all. Sutton is implying the Steelers are looking to start Spillane in Bush's spot, but only time will tell if they're comfortable with him
“Rob’s my guy, a guy that comes in each and every day, doesn't say much, really grinds, really puts in the time, puts in the work, always asks questions,” Cam Sutton said. “I’m really happy for him, really excited for him.”
During Spillane's Zoom call with the media today he said he expects Devin Bush to come back even stronger from his injury. He loves playing with Devon Bush as well as sharing knowledge with him.
“I just want to start this off with Devin, because Devin is a great teammate and a great person. He’s been one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Spillane said. “If anyone knows Devin, you know that he’ll come back stronger than he’s ever been before.”
The best way to support Devin Bush is to go out on the field and pick up where the Steelers left off. He wants to keep making plays on the field but will leave it up to the coaches to get the coaching job done. His coaches feel comfortable with him wearing the green dot meaning they trust him to call plays for the Steelers defense. He's been working on getting comfortable with the Steelers defense for over two years now. He said during the Browns game it felt like his teammates trusted him.
Robert is very excited to go back to where he started his career and play against the team that waived him this coming Sunday. He wants to show that he belongs in the NFL. Spillane is expected to line up next to Veteran Vince Williams who can help him big time on the field. Vince has seen and done it all with the Steelers. The Steelers defense told him he belonged out here with them during the Browns game and this is what you're meant to do. They said so go out there and show everybody what you can do... We will see in time how the Steelers will handle replacing Devin Bush. It seems they will be going with Robert Spillane and Ulysees Grant III, but time will tell if they decide to sign another Veteran Linebacker.