Too many good linebackers?
That’s a new one around here.
The team that brought you Jamar Chaney, Matt McCoy, Moise Fokou, Nate Gerry, Keith Adams, Zach Brown and Kiko Alonso has been linebacker-starved for much of the past few decades. But now the Eagles have a returning all-pro, a highly touted rookie and a 24-year-old who played at a Pro Bowl level last year before an unfortunate injury.
That’s what Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is looking up at.
And he loves it.
Because the more talent in the room, the more he knows he’s going to improve.
“We’ve got a lot of great, talented linebackers in that room and we have a lot of depth at the position and it only makes everybody better,” Trott said after a recent OTA practice.
“Everybody in that room is competing and we're helping each other, sharing our tips and knowledge back and forth. Trying to bring each other along, and when you do that and you try to compete with the guy right next to you, that only helps.
"You improve your game. So I'm really happy to be a part of a situation like that. It’s not like that everywhere.”
Zack Baun returns after making 1st-team all-pro last year, Jihaad Campbell is the highly touted 2nd-round pick and Nakobe Dean is coming off a terrific first year as a full-time starter.
But with Campbell rehabbing from a shoulder injury and Dean facing an extended layoff with a knee injury, the 22-year-old Trotter has been practicing with the 1st-team defense across from Baun during OTAs.
It's a terrific opportunity for Trotter, a 5th-round pick last year who didn’t play any defensive snaps until the last two weeks of the regular season – the blowout win over the Cowboys and the meaningless win over the Giants.
“You don't want to see your guys injured and whatnot,” Trotter said. “But with that happening, my reps have gone up. I'm just blessed to be able to have that opportunity to continue to gain the trust of my coaches and go out there and just try to continue to get better and continue to improve on my game.
“Last year, I feel like the whole defense was learning a new system with Vic coming in. Having a whole year under my belt and continuing to watch the guys, watching Zack Baun, Nakobe, watching Oren (Burks), seeing how they played the game and played different techniques in our defense, I feel like that really helped me learn and continue to develop in the scheme.”
Trotter’s dad went from a backup as a rookie in 1998 to an outstanding starter in Year 2 in 1999 on his way to becoming an all-time Eagles great.
What was dad’s advice to young Trott?
“Man, just keep doing what you were doing your rookie year, which is working every day, trying to make the most of any opportunity you get and just grinding and try to improve, continue to improve,” he said. “That's really all you can do.”
Young Trott said so far he’s improved just in terms of understanding what it takes to be a pro and how that translates to performing better on the field.
“I think getting in a routine,” he said. “I think being (in a) routine as far as game week, and then going into practice. And just my daily routine as far as in the weight room, pre-practice stuff, getting here early in the morning.
“I think just being consistent with that really helps me be consistent when I'm out there on the field. I really believe that it all translates if you're consistent in all areas of your life And you know it's going to translate to your play on the field.”
At 22 years, 47 days on Feb. 9, Trotter is the 3rd-youngest Super Bowl champion in Eagles history. Derek Barnett was 21 years, 224 days when the Eagles beat the Patriots, and Cooper DeJean of course turned 22 when they beat the Chiefs. (The oldest is Donnie Jones, who was 37 in 2017.)
Trotter is the youngest NFL linebacker ever to win a Super Bowl ring, 36 days younger than Ernest Jones was when the Rams beat the Bengals three years ago.
Imagine winning a Super Bowl three years after high school?
“When it happened, it was kind of surreal and like a dream come true,” he said. “But for me, it's really settled down. I kind of focus back on the next season with OTAs and trying to prepare and make sure I'm focused on what's to come and being in the moment right now.
“So that's kind of the mentality I have. And I feel like the goal for the whole Eagles organization is on to the next season. And being in the moment right now. ‘Yeah, we were 2024 champs, but now it's a new season.’
Then there’s the fact that Trotter has a ring before his 23rd birthday and his dad – who played 12 years, made four Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2016 – never won one.
Reached one in 2004. Never won one.
“Yeah, I mean a lot of people think that he might be a little bit like, ‘Aw man, he got one,’” Trott Jr. said. “But my dad, he's just super happy, super proud. And he said he's still going to say he's got a Super Bowl ring. Because technically his name will be on it if (my) name is on it.”