Is Josiah Trotter The Key To Flipping The Defense?
August 4th, 2026
“Heady” linebacker.
It is really premature to have a grasp of the 2026 Bucs defense.
Just yesterday the Bucs had their first fully padded practice of 2026. There’s a long way to go.
But Joe feels the defensive front should mostly be fine. Rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain appears to be that guy. He may not make a Pro Bowl as a rookie but Joe doesn’t think he’s going to get shoved around or exposed much.
Joe also has faith in cornerback Jacob Parrish. The Bucs safeties are very good, obviously. If yesterday is a window into the future, Zyon McCollum may have a bounceback year.
Inside linebacker, the big offseason free agent signing, Alex Anzalone is a good player. So it seems the main question mark is fellow inside linebacker Josiah Trotter, the rookie.
Early review from Anzalone is that Trotter is a smart player.
“Yeah, [Trotter made] some good plays too, not just some typical zone plays,” Anzalone said. “We [have] some gap scheme plays where you had to read the pulling guard and he’s a good, heady player, so that’s not super shocking.”
It helps to be smart. Joe thinks Trotter won’t often get fooled or caught out of position.
Yesterday KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles said Trotter was noticed now that the pads are on. That’s because he is a physical player with a quick trigger.
Trotter being at least competent should go a long way to helping this defense rebound from such an awful 2025 season.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Good report!
August 4th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Trotter is going to be good in time. I’m not sure he starts week 1, but I think he gets plenty of playing time the first quarter of the season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the fulltime starter come Halloween.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:11 am
Yes
August 4th, 2026 at 8:16 am
😆 the same guys were clamoring about Dennis last year. How did that pan out?
August 4th, 2026 at 8:23 am
There ya go with the negative waves
August 4th, 2026 at 8:24 am
funny I haven’t much much at all about dennis or roseboom. it is starting to look like trotter will have the job.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:37 am
Trotter can be just as special as Bain imo….
GO BUCS!!!!
August 4th, 2026 at 8:38 am
While Trotter is a #2 pick, he’s got to earn the starting job over Roseboom. Roseboom is supposed to be a liability in coverage (like Trotter), but he was very productive with the Rams and Panthers. His experience may give him an edge over Trotter early in the season.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:45 am
Depending on rookies is not a great formula for success.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:46 am
I think Trotter will pan out. He will have his learning curve I am sure. I am leary of Bowles talking up anybody. He was all up on Dennis last year and we saw how that went. I think Bowles mainly tries to give his guys confidence and a lot of coach speak. We certainly need Trotter and Bain to be the real deal.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:47 am
A lot of hope is based on rookies playing like all pro’s.
August 4th, 2026 at 8:55 am
100% wearing the green dot, but why be shocked when he’s got a dad who’s carved out quite the lane for himself as an NFL LB. Trotter has probably been hearing about nuances of playing the ILB position before he ever put pads on.
I honestly want to see what the combo of Dennis & Trotter looks like on the inside at some point this offseason, wouldn’t be too shocked to see that in-game because I doubt we see much of Anzalone on the field this preseason.
August 4th, 2026 at 9:12 am
Yes, a rookie CB from a second rate college is going fix the entire defensive scheme that was ranked 32nd in the red zone in 2025.
Simple. Easy. Championship caliber.
August 4th, 2026 at 9:39 am
Ugh… that number they gave him, though… blech.
August 4th, 2026 at 9:45 am
As Jim Bob stated, Roseboom is an experienced linebacker with supposed deficiencies in the passing game, but good production otherwise. With trotter gaining experience, I’m sure we’ll see many lineups with roseboom in it, particularly early.
August 4th, 2026 at 10:05 am
I swear there are folks who log on to this site, take time out of their lovely lives, just to post something negative. How sad.
The Bucs, like most NFL teams, have some promising rookies who they think can contribute. They arent “relying” on them in order to have success. If Trotter doesn’t win the starting job, thry have Roseboom. Behind Bain, thry have a guys like Mohammed coming off a double digit sack season and Walker. Hurst, is someone who brings something different with his size/speed combo and red zone ability. Scott is a promising player maker who can start at NCB and provide much needed depth in the secondary.
Give me a break with the doom and gloom daily whine feast.
August 4th, 2026 at 11:59 am
He was born for this.
August 4th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
JT45 will be good against the run !
Now if he can get proficient to good covering RBs and TEs out of the backfield then all will be fine with the inside linebacker group. September is around the corner.
August 4th, 2026 at 12:57 pm
Bowles has the perfect defense (for offenses), hard for his own players to figure out, yet easy for any 2 bit QB to figure out…I mean, what could go wrong?
Besides:
Poor tackling
Poor effort
Poor communication
CB’s playing as far off as they want (usually 10 yards+)
“Pass rushers” in coverage
ILB’s who can’t cover, yet Bowles have them on Bijan and James Cook
No depth at CB
What am I missing?
August 4th, 2026 at 1:16 pm
“What am I missing?”
Football IQ and a chocolate ensure.
August 4th, 2026 at 1:27 pm
The ILB’s are the key to this defense succeeding so I hope they chose the right ones. I think they did this time. Trotter looks really quick and so does Anzalone.
August 4th, 2026 at 1:36 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
August 4th, 2026 at 1:16 pm
“What am I missing?”
Football IQ and a chocolate ensure.
————
🤣🤣🤣
August 4th, 2026 at 4:12 pm
I really hope Trotter pans out because I want the team to win, but in my years of watching football, “the film doesn’t usually lie,” so I am still trying to understand why we used our second pick on Trotter when I do not believe one person had him on their card as a second pick for any team in the league, except for Todd and Jason. I don’t want to distract from Trotter’s good qualities because he is a good player, but in COLLEGE he was NOT the coverage badass we desperately need so how will he overcome that in the NFL.I still believe our weakness is the secondary and at linebacker. Morrison is a bust. He was never near the ball and he is late to every play even when healthy.