Robert Spillane latest Steelers player added to NFL covid list

For the third time in four days, the Pittsburgh Steelers added a player to the NFL’s covid-19 list.

Thursday, it was inside linebacker Robert Spillane. He joined outside linebacker T.J. Watt (Monday) and offensive lineman Joe Haeg (Tuesday) as those who are presumed to have tested positive for covid-19. Team policy is not to disclose why a player is placed on the list, but the Steelers’ roster is known to be almost completely vaccinated and vaccinated players are not subject to stringent contact tracing.

Though the Steelers made it through the first half of their season as the only NFL team with no players added to the covid list, Spillane is the sixth of the past three weeks. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and receiver Ray-Ray McCloud each missed one of the past three games.

Protocol requires a player who tested positive to test negative on consecutive days and be symptom-free for 48 hours before he can re-join his team.

Spillane has served as the Steelers’ No. 3 inside linebacker most of this season and at times was increasingly siphoning snaps away from starter Devin Bush. But Spillane suffered a knee sprain during the first half of his past Sunday’s loss at the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving coach Mike Tomlin to say on Tuesday that Spillane was “less than available this week.”

Tomlin on Wednesday was asked by a Baltimore reporter if he expected more covid-related roster casualties over the final month of the regular season.

“I don’t know what to think,” Tomlin said. “I don’t think any of us know exactly what to think. We have vaccinations and boosters and things of that nature, but there still seems to be an uptick. I think we all are just doing our due diligence and exercising as much reasonable caution as we can, because of the unknown element of it all.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.