August 7th, 2026
Rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter has two personalities.
Joe cannot emphasize enough how Bucs second-round pick linebacker Josiah Trotter seems like a real-deal, hit-the-ground-running rookie who will perform this season beyond his 21 years on the planet.
Trotter seems hard-wired to be an NFL player. The pads came on at Bucs training camp early this week and the real Trotter emerged.
He’s a polite, well-mannered and well-spoken guy off the field. On the field, he’s got an alter ego.
“When I put the pads on, Josiah’s out the window, I’m just become ‘Trot’ now at that point,” Trotter said today after practice.
Age makes no difference on the field, Trotter said, so he’s there to set the tone and play with an edge. He sees it as his duty as a linebacker.
“I feel like that’s everywhere I’ve been within college, little league, whatever the case is,” Trotter said. “That’s just how my dad brought us up, having that edge, having that mindset. You know, as a middle linebacker, you got to bring that. It’s only going to come from the linebacker, and that’s where it starts. I feel like trying to be that edge, that piece that comes in. When [opponents] see, when they watch film, I want them to know. They got to feel me through the tape. I feel like that’s the biggest thing I want to bring to this team, to this defense and whatever role that is.”
Of course, Trotter’s dad is four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
Six years ago Bucs fans saw this kind of mindset from Antoine Winfield Jr., their second-round pick in 2020. Winfield stepped in and balled out, and his father was a Pro Bowl cornerback. Josiah Trotter seems ripe for the same future this fall.
As a bonus, Trotter, who seems destined to start alongside free agent linebacker Alex Anzalone, said he trained with Anzalone this offseason in Tampa. Their bonding goes back months, not just a handful of practices.
Joe sees Trotter as a serious upgrade from SirVocea Dennis, and Anzalone as a major upgrade from shell-of-himself Lavonte David. The Bucs defense should have a very different feel this year. Hopefully, it’s unrecognizable from the 2025 edition.