Patriots Captain Unavailable For First Practice Before Super Bowl

The New England Patriots won’t have one of their most important players in the first practice prior to Super Bowl LX.

“I don’t anticipate (Robert) Spillane being out there,” New England head coach Mike Vrabel said during his media availability on Thursday, per team-provided video.

Spillane, who played just 13 snaps in the club’s victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship, reaggravated an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for the final four games of the regular season.

The Patriots listed him as a non-participant in their projected injury report on Wednesday.

Spillane has been replaced by Jack Gibbens, Christian Elliss and Jahlani Tavai in the middle of the defense, with all three splitting time to fill his absence. Gibbens has been the main beneficiary, however, seeing his playing time spike whenever Spillane isn’t on the field (86.4%) compared to when he is (36.2%).

Spillane will be afforded extra time to recover in anticipation of the Super Bowl, however, as the game will not be played until Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET.