Earlier this week, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel emphasized the pivotal role of the team’s front seven this season, pointing to the significant investment made to bolster that unit.
“I think that’s got to be a strength for us this year, that front seven,” said the coach, a former 14-year NFL linebacker himself. “We certainly invested in that position, and I like how they’re competing.
Of the 14 new faces the Patriots signed during free agency, eight came on the defensive side of the ball. Six of those play in the front seven: DT Milton Williams, DE K’Lavon Chaisson, DT Khyiris Tonga, OLB Robert Spillane, EDGE Harold Landry, and LB Jack Gibbens. Williams, Landry, and Spillane were among the highest-paid free agents signed by the Patriots this offseason, further emphasizing the team’s commitment to strengthening that group.
After Tuesday’s final minicamp practice, WEEI Afternoons’ Ted Johnson caught up with one of the key newcomers expected to help lead that front seven: linebacker Robert Spillane.
“I’m just so proud of not only the linebacker unit, but the defense as a whole, the team as a whole,” Spillane told Johnson. “I’m new out here, but it feels like family already, so I’m excited for what that could lead to.”
When asked about playing behind a defensive line that could be among the league’s best—headlined by Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, and Keion White—and in front of a secondary featuring one of the top cornerback duos in Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis, the seventh-year pro couldn’t hide his excitement.
“I’m very excited to play behind those guys [the defensive line]. Those are big, strong dudes who know how to play both the run and the pass,” said Spillane. “When you’ve got corners and safeties in the back end, it opens the playbook to do whatever you please. I’m excited to play with two shutdown corners, the secondary, the safeties. We’ll see how this thing shapes out, but it was an exciting OTA period.”
Spillane also shared what it meant to be reunited with Vrabel—his former head coach in Tennessee and the man who first recruited him out of high school when Vrabel was an assistant at Ohio State.
“It’s a full-circle moment being here. He recruited me out of high school at Ohio State. He gave me my first opportunity with the Tennessee Titans eight years ago as an undrafted free agent. Just to be signed to be the middle linebacker here and to play meaningful snaps means the world to me,” he said. “I don’t want to let him down. He’s the type of coach that any player wants to play for. He encourages people to follow their dreams, to love their families, and to love football. What more can you ask for from a coach?”
With OTAs and minicamp officially wrapped as of Wednesday, the Patriots now enter a five-week break before training camp kicks off on July 23. For Spillane, that stretch will be spent balancing football prep with family life—and a busy slate of birthdays.
“We just had our second daughter four days ago,” he said. “Take care of her. We have an 11 ½-year-old that turns one on June 25, my wife’s birthday is June 27, I train 365 days out of the year,t so I’ll continue with that and get ready for the season.”
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