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Right this second, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie LB Josiah Trotter is best known as “Jeremiah Trotter’s son.”
That’s gonna happen when your dad is a multi-time All-Pro who played fairly recently (retired in 2009).
But that’s not what the Buccaneers know him as.
The Bucs see Trotter as a player who can help lead this defense into the post-Lavonte David era.
"He is mean," Run Game Coordinator and Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote told reporters this past Tuesday. "I was happy that we got him. I do not think since we have been here that we have had that true Mike linebacker. What I mean by that is he is able to hit the guard and make the play and get off very easily. He can strike those guys, there is a little old-school football. I am pretty sure he gets that from his daddy. He is the definition of that Mike linebacker.
To Foote’s point, the last formidable Mike the Bucs had was probably Barrett Rudd, who last played for the team in 2010, overlapping with Josiah’s father for the first five seasons of his career.
The recently-retired David is one of the best players in franchise history, but he mainly played on the outside.
To account for David’s loss, the Bucs signed veteran Alex Anzalone from theDetroit Lions in March.
Trotter will be playing in the middle, which he played in college.
After redshirting the 2023 season with an injury, Trotter made a name for himself at West Virginia in 2024, being named the Big 12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year.
From there, he transferred to Missouri, where he was a first-team All-SEC performer.
Trotter’s bread and butter has been his run defense.
Pro Football Focus gave Trotter a run-defense grade of 89.2, and his missed tackle rate per PFF was 11.1 percent.
He finished tied for sixth in the SEC with 84 tackles this past season, and the season before that, he had 93.
Trotter is known for his ability to blitz and time his blitzes, a skill that could well translate to the National Football League.
Foote wasn’t the only Bucs coach who had praise for the rookie.
Inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell talked highly about Trotter’s “instincts” and attributed them to being around his dad.
There’s an argument to be made that Trotter’s background offsets what would be a ? for most young players, and that’s a relative lack of college football experience.
In an era where it feels like college players can stick around for a decade, Trotter was only in the sport for three years, and only healthy for two of them.
But as Caldwell alluded to, what Trotter the Younger lacks in game experience, he makes up for with football IQ.
A criticism of Trotter has been his pass coverage. In this department, PFF gave him an overall grade of 49.4 in 2024 and 47.4 in 2025.
Foote isn’t too worried about it.
“See, when I watch his tape – because you hear that he’s a big thumper, a Mike linebacker – but then you watch the tape, he’s not a liability in the pass game,” Foote said. “I know his strength. A lot of times when their strength is the run game you automatically go, ‘Oh, he’s lacking in the pass game.’ But all of them – when you hit this league – you’ve got to learn just as far as the hashes, it’s a different game. It’s a lot easier, but you’ve got to transition to this game. I don’t see that as a weakness.
“They’re all going to have to develop, learn how to play underneath, smell the quarterback, know where he’s going, know the handoff of the ball, stuff like that. But once again, I was surprised that we got him.”
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That’s gonna happen when your dad is a multi-time All-Pro who played fairly recently (retired in 2009).
But that’s not what the Buccaneers know him as.
The Bucs see Trotter as a player who can help lead this defense into the post-Lavonte David era.
"He is mean," Run Game Coordinator and Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote told reporters this past Tuesday. "I was happy that we got him. I do not think since we have been here that we have had that true Mike linebacker. What I mean by that is he is able to hit the guard and make the play and get off very easily. He can strike those guys, there is a little old-school football. I am pretty sure he gets that from his daddy. He is the definition of that Mike linebacker.
To Foote’s point, the last formidable Mike the Bucs had was probably Barrett Rudd, who last played for the team in 2010, overlapping with Josiah’s father for the first five seasons of his career.
The recently-retired David is one of the best players in franchise history, but he mainly played on the outside.
To account for David’s loss, the Bucs signed veteran Alex Anzalone from theDetroit Lions in March.
Trotter will be playing in the middle, which he played in college.
After redshirting the 2023 season with an injury, Trotter made a name for himself at West Virginia in 2024, being named the Big 12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year.
From there, he transferred to Missouri, where he was a first-team All-SEC performer.
Trotter’s bread and butter has been his run defense.
Pro Football Focus gave Trotter a run-defense grade of 89.2, and his missed tackle rate per PFF was 11.1 percent.
He finished tied for sixth in the SEC with 84 tackles this past season, and the season before that, he had 93.
Trotter is known for his ability to blitz and time his blitzes, a skill that could well translate to the National Football League.
Foote wasn’t the only Bucs coach who had praise for the rookie.
Inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell talked highly about Trotter’s “instincts” and attributed them to being around his dad.
There’s an argument to be made that Trotter’s background offsets what would be a ? for most young players, and that’s a relative lack of college football experience.
In an era where it feels like college players can stick around for a decade, Trotter was only in the sport for three years, and only healthy for two of them.
But as Caldwell alluded to, what Trotter the Younger lacks in game experience, he makes up for with football IQ.
A criticism of Trotter has been his pass coverage. In this department, PFF gave him an overall grade of 49.4 in 2024 and 47.4 in 2025.
Foote isn’t too worried about it.
“See, when I watch his tape – because you hear that he’s a big thumper, a Mike linebacker – but then you watch the tape, he’s not a liability in the pass game,” Foote said. “I know his strength. A lot of times when their strength is the run game you automatically go, ‘Oh, he’s lacking in the pass game.’ But all of them – when you hit this league – you’ve got to learn just as far as the hashes, it’s a different game. It’s a lot easier, but you’ve got to transition to this game. I don’t see that as a weakness.
“They’re all going to have to develop, learn how to play underneath, smell the quarterback, know where he’s going, know the handoff of the ball, stuff like that. But once again, I was surprised that we got him.”
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
Continue reading...
