Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is getting another shot at the linebacker rotation that never happened in London. After Wednesday’s practice, the Philadelphia Eagles linebacker said he is grateful the coaches are opening more snaps for him next to Zack Baun — and that he owns the opening-kickoff fight that got him ejected before he could take a defensive snap against Jacksonville.
“I’m excited,” Trotter said. “I thank God for the coaches giving me some more opportunity. I’m going to do what I’ve usually been doing: prepare, go out there and do my job, make the plays I need to make and help the defense.”
“I could have controlled my emotion better”
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Tuesday the plan in London was already to rotate Trotter with Jihaad Campbell by series, not by situation, after Trotter’s 15-tackle game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 when Baun was out. The broadcast report that Trotter was going to start, Fangio said, was “an out and out lie.” The rotation never started because Trotter and Jaguars edge Bryan Thomas Jr. were ejected after the opening kickoff scrap.
Trotter said he wished he had gotten that chance, then stopped himself from dwelling on it. “Yeah, I would have liked to use that as another opportunity, but I feel like things happen for a reason,” he said. “I can’t harp on it. We’ve got to move on, get back to work.”
On the fight itself, he did not duck the responsibility. “It’s football. Emotions run high. I could have controlled my emotion better, and I’m going to learn from the situation,” Trotter said. Asked if the ejection surprised him, he said: “I was a bit surprised, but at the same time they made a decision out there. I should not have even been in that situation that had them make that decision. At the end of the day, that’s on me. I’ve got to be better there.”
He watched the rest of the 19-17 loss from the locker room. “I was just in the locker room watching the game and cheering them on from the side,” he said. “I was happy to see them out there fighting.” On the final kick, he said he was upset like everyone else and wished he could have helped on special teams.
Trust from the Rams start
Trotter said the coaches’ feedback after the Rams game was simple: he did his job and earned trust. “They just thought I had a good game. I was doing my job, and they saw that they can trust me out there,” he said. “They just told me that I had a really good game and they were super proud of me.”
Through four games he has 19 tackles and a pass breakup; 15 of those tackles came in the Rams start. He said the upcoming series-by-series mix with Campbell is not new for him. “In college I had stretches where I was rotating, and I had to make sure I was doing my part and using the most of whatever opportunity I got,” he said. When he is off the field, he said, he stays locked in the same way he does in practice — running the call in his head.
Campbell: “Whatever it takes”
Campbell, the 2025 first-round pick, has 42 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble through five games and played 86 percent of the defensive snaps in London after Trotter’s ejection. Fangio called that game “OK” and said he is not worried about Campbell’s response to fewer snaps.
Campbell said the room’s bond with Trotter is fine. “It’s not a weird situation,” he said. “Football is about competition. Our room understands our goals and what we want to accomplish — go out there and dominate.” On how the rotation will look, he shrugged at the series talk. “I just worry about whatever play I’m in — doing my job, executing and helping our defense.”
He was still surprised by the London ejection. “I was actually surprised. I don’t even know what happened. I see my boy out there, we all ran out there, and next thing you know he just got kicked out,” Campbell said. Asked how he takes the shared role, he said: “Whatever it takes for us to win a football game. That’s how big it is right now.”
The Eagles host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, October 18.
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