“I’AM LEAVING” NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has announced that he is leaving the Las Vegas Raiders due to…..
Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo established themselves as the mainstays at linebacker back in training camp and it’s no surprise to see the pair as the top-tacklers on the Las Vegas Raiders defense for the 2023 season.
Spillane paced the team with 148 total tackles (82 solo, 66 assists) while Deablo racked up 106 total stops (65 solo, 41 assists). A free agent boon, the 28-year-old Spillane came over from the Pittsburgh Steelers this past offseason and assumed the starting spot with a productive 17-start campaign play 1,101 snaps (97 percent of Las Vegas’ total defensive snaps). He added three interceptions and four pass deflections to go along with 3.5 sacks (four quarterback hits) and seven tackles for loss.
Deablo, on the other hand, is a homegrown product who brings safety speed but didn’t generate the takeaways Spillane has.
Despite that, the 25-year-old remains an important piece on the Raiders defense and enters his contract year in 2024 after being a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Spillane and Deablo were key cogs in Patrick Graham’s improved Silver & Black defense and are going to be depended on highly in 2024.
That said, general manager Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce should get the top-two linebackers help this offseason as bolstering that group will help an improved defense.
One could argue spending more coin or using draft capital at the linebacker spot is a misallocation of valuable resources due to Las Vegas using the nickel formation — that often only has two linebackers on the field — as basically its base formation.
