August 22, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. #54 of the Philadelphia Eagles performs a drill during training camp at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on August 4, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In any other recent time period, Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. would've been a spectator Saturday night in Foxboro.
The Eagles don't play starters in the preseason. At Gillette Stadium in the second preseason game, first-teamers observed from the sideline in street clothes while key backups and roster hopefuls went to battle against the same types for the Patriots.
That presented another opportunity for Trotter, a third-year pro who's been stuck in the mud on the depth chart, to show how far the Eagles have come over the past few years in accruing and developing legitimate, Pro Bowl-level talent at a position they once largely ignored and dismissed for a long time.
Trotter typically shows that he could be in the mix to start for mostly any other NFL team. He plays with sharp instincts and high IQ, and did again this Saturday, almost single-handedly stifling New England's second possession.
On 3rd and 2, Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito foiled a blitz by dodging the pressure, climbing the pocket and maneuvering around the left side with plenty of green in front of him. DeVito picked up the first down, but would have gained so much more if Trotter hadn't taken him down by the ankles at the last second.
On the very next snap, Trotter showed off those instincts, timing up his blitz perfectly with New England's cadence so that he was already draped on DeVito's back within seconds of the snap.
DeVito didn't even have time to pivot before getting flattened by Trotter, who recorded his second sack in two preseason games, one of the standout plays for an Eagles defensive front that played well before things hot hairy later in the team's 24-21 loss.
.@JTrotter_54 coming through! pic.twitter.com/DTXyXOG5i2
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 22, 2026
"He's reaping the benefits of being in the system for three years," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said earlier this week as the Eagles and Patriots practiced against each other for two days. "He's matured. He always knew what to do, but his processing is a whole lot faster and quicker. I mean, the most important quality you can have as an inside backer is instincts, play recognition. His is really showing more in this camp than it had before."
At this point, Trotter's best impressions aren't limited to training camp practice, preseason games, or flashes here and there.
It's far more common for him to make an eyebrow-raising play than not, which must be maddening for him as he sits behind All-Pro Zack Baun and first-round pick Jihaad Campbell to pick up any playing time scraps that might remain.
Which haven't been many.
As a rookie, Trotter only played 104 total snaps on defense, more than half of which came in a meaningless season finale as the starters rested. Last year, he played just 88, almost all of them coming in garbage time and another season finale that meant nothing.
If he had been born maybe 10 years sooner, the son of iconic Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter would've been a surefire starter by now, but this isn't your father's – or his father's – Eagles defense.
Baun, a two-time Pro Bowler, has entered the conversation of being one of the NFL's top off-ball linebackers. Campbell, last year's first-round pick, showed snapshots of what his trademark athleticism can bring to the defense during the first half of last season as he held the fort down until Nakobe Dean was ready to return from patellar tendon surgery.
Campbell, who has undergone two shoulder procedures since the Eagles picked him 31st overall, missed valuable OTA reps this spring as he rehabbed from the second procedure. Fangio made it clear, in words and action, that Campbell needed more refinement to be prepared for Week 1.
Campbell was the lone starter on defense to play in the preseason opener last Saturday against the Ravens, getting in 14 snaps before heading to the sideline. During the week, Fangio had said he felt Campbell needed more reps and noted that Campbell made some mistakes in the exhibition, which validated his decision to play him.
"It proved it out in the game," Fangio said. "He had a play or two that he didn't play the right way, that he should be playing the right way. We've still got work to do."
Trotter played a few snaps into the second quarter before being replaced by Chance Campbell, another linebacker, who along with undrafted rookie free agent Deontae Lawson, has impressed Fangio.
"Our ILB position is probably our deepest position on defense," Fangio also said during the week.
And given this franchise's recent history at that position, that's saying something.
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