Is Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Ready For Bigger Role on Eagles? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
When offseason workouts began, it became quite clear that the Philadelphia Eagles had a major conundrum at linebacker.
First-Team All-Pro Zack Baun is ready for his second season with the team, but the question of who plays beside him continues to be a mystery.
Last year’s starter, Nakobe Dean, is still recovering from a torn patellar tendon. He suffered the injury in Philadelphia’s 22-10 win in the wild card round of the playoffs. After Dean, Philadelphia drafted linebacker Jihaad Campbell with the 31st overall pick in the 2025 draft.
The issue with Campbell? He is dealing with shoulder and knee injuries that will keep him out until the middle of August.
That leaves 2024 late-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to take first team reps with Baun at linebacker.
Trotter is no secret in Philadelphia. The son of the former Eagles legend of the same name, Trotter was a key special-teams player in his first season with the organization last year.
The fact that both father and son were able to celebrate a Super Bowl title together made the decision to draft him out of Clemson last year all the sweeter
Clearly, expectations have changed now. Instead of Trotter playing solely on special teams, he is being thrown into the starting lineup until Campbell or Dean are ready to play.
Can he hold his own now in that role?
Trotter certainly has the pedigree to be a potential starter in the NFL. The fact that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is confident enough in his abilities to give him some starting reps. shows that the youngster may be further long than anticipated.
Time will tell if Trotter’s first-team reps will be taken away once one of the perceived stars returns from injury. It’s clear that the Eagles are leaving everything on the table when it comes to who will play alongside Baun in 2025, though.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.