Why Jeremiah Trotter Has Put Himself In The Eagles' Starting Linebacker Mix

Trotter has had the kind of training camp and preseason opener that showed he can be a starter, but with Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, that doesn't seem likely.

Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., has provided solid competition at Eagles camp in the summer of 2026. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., has had the sort of training camp that has social media wondering: Can he be a starter on Vic Fangio’s defense this season?

Zack Baun is one starting linebacker. Jihaad Campbell will be the other one. Trotter has played well all summer and had a standout exhibition game in the opener, but Campbell is faster, more athletic, taller, and rangier. That’s no slight on Trotter. He’s very good and could very well start for a few other teams in the league. Just not this one.

“He's reaping the benefits of being in the system for three years,” said Vic Fangio before the Eagles had the first of two practices against the Patriots in Foxboro on Wednesday. “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.”

Campbell will continue to improve and feed off Trotter to make it happen.

“That dude is smart,” said Campbell about Trotter. “He has some tricks up his sleeve, especially in the run game and knowing how to get off blocks and really having great block destruction and really great eyes in the passing game. He knows how to communicate. You gotta love playing with a guy like Trott, because he’s very instinctual. He’s just a great backer.”

Eagles second-year linebacker Jihaad Campbell takes the field for a training camp practice in the summer of 2026. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

That doesn’t mean he is ready to start above Campbell, even though Baun took the first preseason game off and will probably sit the final two as well, and Campbell played.

“When Nakobe [Dean] got back last year, [Jihaad's] snaps got cut down a lot, and I just feel he needs more reps,” said Fangio, explaining why Campbell played in Baltimore. “It proved it out in the game. 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.”

Campbell was only too happy to get reps in the preseason opener. He’s not above trying to get better.

“I felt good,” he said. “I think sometimes people complicate this to much. It’s football and it’s what you put on tape. It doesn’t matter if it’s a preseason game or if you’re playing football in the street with no streetlights, it doesn’t matter. Football’s football, and it’s always important to think that way because at the end of the day everything is on film.”

For now, though, the competition Trotter is providing is invaluable for Campbell and the rest of the interior linebacker room that Fangio called the “deepest position on defense,” with Smael Mondon, Chase Campbell, and Deontae Lawson residing there as well.