Former Steelers LB Thinks Pittsburgh Made 1 Big Mistake In 2025 Offseason

Afterwards, a fan chimed in saying that Pittsburgh allowed Robert Spillane to leave in free agency, with the idea of letting him go being a reason for the recent struggles. Williams responded by adding another name that General Manager  Omar Khan maybe should have tried to keep. 

Elandon Roberts has always been a tackle machine, and he racked up 101 of them in 16 games in 2023. However, the emergence of Payton Wilson made the team let him walk, so the rookie could get more snaps and develop into a high-end player. Instead, he seems to be in a sophomore slump as he is at the forefront of the tackling problems. 

So far, Roberts has not missed a tackle in the first two games with the Las Vegas Raiders. Like with the Steelers in 2024, the Raiders have been exclusively using him as a run-down situation player. While that may give him fewer chances to make a play, it allows him to focus on what he does best, as opposed to trying to wrap up some shifty wideout in the open field. Pittsburgh could really use a player like him at this point.

Spillane spent four years in Pittsburgh, and each year, he developed into a better run defender. He even went viral in 2020 for his strong hit on Derrick Henry, a man that is almost impossible to take down with just one linebacker. There were flashes, but Pittsburgh eventually let him go. He has quickly proven to the team that that was a huge mistake on their part. 

In two seasons with the Raiders, Spillane racked up 148 and 158 tackles respectively. His missed tackle rate in 2024 was just 6.5%, which is similar to Roberts when he was with the Steelers. He was even named a captain with the Raiders and his new team, the New England Patriots. However, Spillane's missed tackle rate has been astronomical in 2025 with the Patriots, so 2024 may have been a good stopping point for him. 

The Steelers signed Malik Harrison to be the replacement for Roberts, but he got injured in Week 1 and has since been placed on Injured Reserve (IR). Because of that and the loss of Roberts, Pittsburgh does not have that bona fide downhill run stopper that they desperately need. Wilson has shown no ability to help out in that regard, and Patrick Queen can't do everything by himself.

Steelers Have To Find Ways To Adapt

Obviously, football is a team game, so one player can't be the difference between a good and terrible run defense. When opposing offenses keep burning them by running the same exact direction each time, you'd think that they would make adjustments to make sure that gets slowed down. Having Roberts on the team would definitely help, but he likely would not solve all the current problems with this team.