Spillane Was a Shadow of Himself in the Super Bowl and the Patriots Need Him Fully Healthy Now

When New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane spoke about what he did with his offseason down time, fans breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Kept it really basic."

"Spent a lot of time with the family."

"Worked my crafts."

"Got healthy."

Boom!

Back and healthy on the field

That last line and Spillane's health will impact tremendously again in 2026.

One of Mike Vrabel's marquee free-agent pickups a year ago, Spillane was rocking defensively, leading the unit from his inside spot on an 11-2 rampage to open the season. Spillane made all the calls and played over 95 percent of the snaps in that stretch. He piled up double-figure tackles four different times.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder out of Western Michigan suffered a left foot/ankle injury in Week 13, though, and missed the rest of the regular season.

"That's part of the game we play. We sign up to get injured, to bang into each other, to put our bodies on the line. That's just part of the business," said Spillane earlier in the spring. "Obviously, you want to do everything you can to get back out on the field. You hate missing snaps. You hate feeling like you're letting your team down."

He returned for the playoffs, only to struggle with the ankle and was a shadow of his regular-season self.

Hobbled during ugly Super Bowl

While Kenneth Walker feasted on the ground for the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, grinding out 135 yards on 27 rushes – five yards a carry – Spillane, the team's main run-stuffer, managed one solo tackle.

Clearly, he wasn't physically right, so hearing that the injury is behind him has to be great news for Vrabel and Co.

Spillane was on the field, a participant at June minicamp. He's all systems go for this upcoming training camp in a little over three weeks.

"We've had a great plan (to get back here), so just continue to progress," he said. "Guys are healthy, guys are excited. Guys are willing to go out there and work … and work like we've never worked before. That's my focus … That's pretty much our whole team's focus."

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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 1:21 PM.