Todd Bowles Says Josiah Trotter Can Play Outside Linebacker
June 18th, 2026
Bucs rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter.
So many toys now reside in the Buccaneers’ front-7. Different toys, better toys, much more fun stuff that asking SirVocea Dennis to blitz.
Joe did a double-take hearing Todd Bowles say this week that rookie second-round pick Josiah Trotter can play outside linebacker.
That’s right, outside.
Not known for his speed, and standing 6-2, 237 pounds per his NFL Scouting Combine measurements, Trotter has impressed Bowles with his skillset.
“Trotter’s like 6-2 and he’s long, and he runs a lot better than people think he does when you see him in person,” Bowles told Sports Day Tampa Bay. “And he can moonlight outside as well as inside. And he’s a heck of a blitzer. You really feel his presence when the pads come on, so I’m excited to see it.”
Joe loves how Trotter and first-round pick Rueben Bain, the Miami Mauler edge rusher, are only 21 years old. They can still get faster and more powerful.
No, Joe doesn’t see Trotter lining up on the edge much, but former Bowles-Bucs inside linebacker Devin White did occasionally. And Joe can envision Bowles getting creative (too creative?) with all his new blood.
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June 18th, 2026 at 10:56 am
Lets let the guy focus on one position and learning it well. Enough of this position flexibility BS. We have enough OLBs already
June 18th, 2026 at 10:57 am
Itâs summer vacation Joes !
Take a break and relax and enjoy, you can write stories about what you are doing on vacation.
Same with the players, letâs hear what they are doing before the GRIND of the NFL season begins in the end of July.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:04 am
âNo, Joe doesnât see Trotter lining up on the edge much, but former Bowles-Bucs inside linebacker Devin White did occasionally. And Joe can envision Bowles getting creative (too creative?) with all his new blood.â
Too creative? Absolutely not lol
Thatâs how you show a 4-man front, and convert it into a
5-man rush in the fly, now your guys on the interior DL donât have to 2-gap in a pinch just moving Trotter to the LOS, everybody has a man-to-man matchup. Thatâd 5 simultaneous opportunities to win a match up and disrupt the pocket or stifle a run attempt.
Too creative, tuh
June 18th, 2026 at 11:04 am
We know what one guys doing. Congratulations to Egbuka and his bride to be this Summer.
Heâs way more mature than Evans was coming in. I think Mike could have gone either way. Does anyone remember the bar fight ( scuffle?) Evans got into his rookie year. He grow up so much after he got married. Mikeâs wife did more for Bucs fans than any of them realized.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:10 am
The last thing we need is for Bowles to get “creative”.
He constantly puts guys out of position and confused on the scheme he employs.
It’s softer than Swiss cheese on a warm September Sunday in Tampa.
He’s going to ruin these promising rookies if he’s allowed to stay on past 2026.
The guy is worthless and incompetent. A killer combo indeed.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:12 am
Yeet!!!
June 18th, 2026 at 11:14 am
Can’t wait to see him covering Chase Brown out of the backfield in week 1 đ
June 18th, 2026 at 11:16 am
âThe last thing we need is for Bowles to get âcreativeâ.
He constantly puts guys out of position and confused on the scheme he employs.â
Itâs league-wide, not Bowles exclusive or specific
Disguising pressures, selling man & zone pre-snap, aligning players from their normal depth chart positons are all common place.
Youâre griping about the checkers, while the league is playing chess.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:19 am
While I think Jason – and Greenberg just alluded to this in an interview with Ronde – is a great scout, talent evaluator and drafter overall, letâs be honestâŚ.
Itâs the 2nd round picks that have been the bugaboo of that strong suit. This couldnât be a better time for that to change. I like Trotter and he was in that tier of linebackers I wanted outside of JRod.
Dude also has what I call a âpedigree head startâ. Iâm excited to see him play and hopefully blossom. One given in his play style and that we lacked last season is he doesnât shy away from contact and can pop (hopefully like his Pops). Iâll take that for a starting point!
June 18th, 2026 at 11:21 am
We need a MIKE linebacker. A guy who can read offenses and communicate on the fly. And stuff the run. And cover screens and checkdowns and slants and sense when theyâre coming. And make big plays like knocking the ball loose and picking errant passes. And LEAD. Weâre expecting alot Mr. Trotter. This is a great opportunity. Show us what youâve got.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:23 am
And you bet he can challenge Anzalone for the Mike.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:27 am
Once Rodriguez came off the board shortly before the Bucs got to pick in the 2nd round – the universal assumption was the Bucs would select either Allen or Hill.
Jason and Todd decided instead to target the legacy LBer – so it will be interesting to compare the careers of those 2 in particular vs Josiah Trotter.
I admit I wasn’t crazy about the Trotter selection at the time – with Allen and Hill both on the board – but after hearing the explanation that they were targeting a true MLB and seeing how Trotter is always playing downhill and consistently making plays behind the LOS – I’ve warmed up to the Trotter pick quite a bit since draft day….
June 18th, 2026 at 11:30 am
Here we go again⌠They just continue with trying to sell everyone else, on all of their own hopes, wishes, and dreams. Delusions.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:34 am
Heâs had two underwear practices, and itâs⌠HE. Can. Do It. ALL. LoL.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:41 am
Joe,
I am not sure exactly how you meant, âmore fun stuff tha(n) asking SirVocea Dennis to blitz.â
I have been very critical of Dennis as a starting ILB. But, blitzing is the exception. PFF ranked him 13th of 88 ILBs when rushing the passer, and he certainly deserves credit for excelling in that area of play.
As to lining Trotter up on the outside, I think that the motto and theme for the front seven should dig deep into the vault to break out some Black Sabbath and go with, âMob Rules!â
Hopefully, Bowles will have the front seven playing meet in the middle and crush! Trotter coming from the outside would be a fine addition to the mayhem!
June 18th, 2026 at 11:47 am
Can’t wait to see how good these players can be next season when Bowles is gone.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:47 am
âAnd he can moonlight outside as well as inside.â
I donât interpret that to be suggesting heâs going to be playing OLB.
I donât understand the criticism of this guyâs speed. He seems to move just fine.
The Legacy players: Winfield and now Trotter.
Trotter and Bain and Scott. Could they be the cornerstones of another great Defense?
June 18th, 2026 at 11:50 am
Ya know, how bout letâs just take his actual true STRENGTHS (supposedly the reason you took HIM), work on âone-thingâ at a time, & make SURE that he can handle that first, and do it well. I believe that we are all SICK & TIRED of hearing about how complex and DIFFICULT the âBowles-Systemâ is for young players to learn, and to thrive in. Then, 2-3 FULL SEASONS-IN, theyâre still saying the same damn things, and the player himself, has NOT developed or improved, AT ALL. You canât continue using the same damn EXCUSES for EVERY season, Itâs like he just LOVES banging his head against the wall, on constant repeat. Over and Over, & Again and Again. Itâs Total INSANITY.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:00 pm
ModHairKen Says:
June 18th, 2026 at 11:47 am
I donât understand the criticism of this guyâs speed. He seems to move just fine.
^^^^^^^^^^
I think for me, it’s more about Bowles not using his players the right way. If Bowles hasn’t learned from his mistakes and has Trotter trying to cover guys like Bijan and James Cook, Trotter will get cooked.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Why?
June 18th, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Flexibility @BadBucs
Itâs nothing weâve never done before, David did it all the time as a run defender and blitzer.
Trotter is our stack backer, meaning he plays off the rear of our 3-tech.
Say we flip the gap plan pre-snap, or rotate into a run fit trying to predict the play based off what the offense shows.
Now you can switch into your bear(5-man) front with Trotter sealing the edge and play the flat, run or pass. Now youâve got a Yaya/AQM/Bain in the B-gap, Vita/Robinson directly over the center and the opposite DT in the other B-Gap.
Thatâs a 5 on 5 look, 6 if thereâs an in-line TE and you just went from 2-gapping on the entire to giving every player just 1-man to beat. Btw, that TE would also likely be Anzalone assignment in Man
You can literally just show it and have Trotter in position but sinking back into a zone, setting the edge, running a lip on a stunt, being a flat defender. All these things, itâs more about positioning than it is making him do something heâs not good at because as the stack backer your the 5-6th man in the box anyway.
Leverage game, itâs one of the many games within the game.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Of course arrogant Twocoach says that. He thinks Vita Vea can play OLB and Safety. Sure they line up there, then Twocoach is disappointed when they suck and Kirk Cousins throws for 1000 yards against him when he didnât throw for that many yards against the rest of the league.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:06 pm
Smoke Porterhouse … ‘I think for me, itâs more about Bowles not using his players the right way.’
After some initial struggles in 2019 (Jameis’ 30 INTs might’ve had a hand in that), Todd produced 2 Top-10 defenses in a row. Bucs’ defense was critical during our 2020 Super Bowl run & playoffs, and was actually better in 2021.
PERHAPS having some highly talented veterans like Suh, JPP, Shaq & several others to ‘lead the charge’ plus a bunch of high round draft picks like Vea, White, Winfield, Davis, SMB, Dean, Edwards (all Rnd 1, 2 or 3 draft picks in 2018-2020) made a difference in how well his hybrid 3-4 defense performed?
And PERHAPS we’ll see a similar level of performance out of this year’s defense, now that we’ve upgraded talent levels in terms of veterans like Vea, Kancey, Robinson, RNR, Diaby, Anzalone, Winfield to ‘lead the charge’ plus a bunch of high round draft picks like Bain, Trotter, Morrison, Parrish, Tykee Smith (all Rnd 1, 2 or 3 draft picks in 2024-2026). Bowles’ defenses work a LOT BETTER with highly talented guys to run it.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:44 pm
I don’t really see why he couldn’t play outside. I think he’d actually do OK there if the snaps were limited. I think he’s going to be a good player, but I also don’t think he’s a great fit for ILB in Bowles defense, and like White, Britt and Dennis, everyone is going to be whining about his coverage skills very early on.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:47 pm
Defense Rules Says:
June 18th, 2026 at 1:06 pm
Smoke Porterhouse ⌠âI think for me, itâs more about Bowles not using his players the right way.â
After some initial struggles in 2019 (Jameisâ 30 INTs mightâve had a hand in that), Todd produced 2 Top-10 defenses in a row.
———-
Nothing about Winston throwing a bit was related to guys on defense having no idea what they were supposed to be doing. It was just young defensive backs in a new defense. If you recall, that early 2019 defense was on pace to be the worst Bucs pass defense in history – which was quite the early achievement. As they learned the system however – the players greatly improved.
And that system? It was an aggressive man-to-man defense – not this garbage passive zone trash that Bowles now runs.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:54 pm
You know in under wear football (lol) thatâs when you see players in space getting leverage. I agree, I donât like when Coach gets too
creative with rookies, Hell veterans are in the wrong spots.
The speed of the NFL will tell the story. đ¤đžđđž
June 18th, 2026 at 2:08 pm
After watching some film of this kid Trotter, I get a feeling he may be sneakily the most exciting draft pick when September football rolls around, I think he is going to surprise some people quickly. He reminds me of Patrick Willis … I’m sure some of you will laugh at me for saying this, look me up come November.
June 18th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
KISS.
June 18th, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Rod … ‘Nothing about Winston throwing a bit was related to guys on defense having no idea what they were supposed to be doing. It was just young defensive backs in a new defense.’
I don’t disagree at all Rod that having rookies back there like While, SMB, Dean & Edwards had its’ impact. But so did Jameis throwing SEVEN Pick-6 leading to 48 points that season.
Bucs’ defense was charged with 449 points that season, yet they were sitting on the bench when 50 of those points were scored (if you include the 2-pt safety the offense took in Game 2).
June 18th, 2026 at 2:23 pm
â And that system? It was an aggressive man-to-man defense â not this garbage passive zone trash that Bowles now runs.â
youâre still on this, when Warren Sharp says it was a 73% zone usage rate that year
Install year, 3 young corners and some young safties, why tf would we be man heavy? When itâs easier to trust guys to defend space on a down to down basis, rather than leaving them in the breeze expecting them to be man coverage mavens?
Let it go Rod
June 18th, 2026 at 2:29 pm
When Bowles reported to a real head coach, i.e., a football operations boss instead of now when he reports to his incompetent self, the defense was better. Particularly, coverage might be found in the same area code as a receiver. Unlike now.
June 18th, 2026 at 2:52 pm
Defense Rules – yeah, if you’re talking about the points allowed, sure, I’m just going by if they were actually any good or not. And early on that year, they were awful until it clicked. It’s more of a compliment to Bowles and the players than anything, the progression showed that year was off the charts.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
With the 1st pick in the 2027 NFL Draft the Tampa Bay Yuccaneers select Arch Manning, University of Texas
June 18th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Butt Munch Says must have a daily/weekly. Yearly quota to comment 300 times
June 18th, 2026 at 3:19 pm
Rod … ‘I donât really see why he couldnât play outside. I think heâd actually do OK there if the snaps were limited.’
Scott Smith wrote a really interesting article back in Jan 2019 titled ‘4-3? 3-4? Both? Bucs New Defense Will Be ‘Versatile’. It started off like this:
“The first great Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, with its front seven centered around the likes of Lee Roy Selmon, David Logan, Richard Wood and Cecil Johnson, identified as a 3-4 scheme. That group led the NFL in total defense in 1979, led the team to three playoff berths in four years and eventually sent Selmon to the Hall of Fame.”
Smith proved to be right (in the article’s title) in that Bowles uses the 4-3 more than what a lot of folks recognize. Back in 2019 when he had Vea, Suh, JPP & Shaq (for starters), Bowles was the mad-blitzer (Bucs blitzed 613 times that season in 1073 def plays). Yet we still only got 47 sacks that year (but we did get 186 pressures). Along the way, we allowed opposing QBs to complete only 61.4% of their passes and we also had the #1 ranked Run Defense.
Last season the Bucs blitzed less than half that amount (only 276 blitzes in 1001 def plays). But our defense only got 37 sacks (and only 132 pressures). However, we allowed opposing QBs to complete only 66.7% of their passes and we also had the #5 ranked Run Defense.
I’m expecting that Bowles will dial up the 4-man and 5-man Pass Rush a LOT MORE this year than he has since he’s been HC & DC. We’ve got the personnel for it, and he knows it. I can easily see him using 4-3 formations more, with say Vea, Robinson, Kancey & Bain or Diaby up-front, then Anzalone, Rozeboom & Trotter (or Leionte Scott or 1 of our OLBs) showing as LBs. The combinations of Pass Rush possibilities from formations like that is almost endless.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:29 pm
Thanks WBL,
That makes sense. Flexibility and deception, not replacing a real edge with a guy 20 lbs. lighter or dropping the edge back. Smart.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:29 pm
Bowles wants his players to be Jack of All Trades, Master of None. Trotter is a rookie, let him play ILB – well.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:40 pm
Dogging Voss is a favorite pastime of the site. He was essentially a rookie last year and could actually progress. His stats weren’t that much worse than LVD’s. Expecting Trotter to be a world beater is over-exuberant. Bucs had the same expectations for Voss. Licht missed the boat in FA not picking up one of the better less expensive young guys who were available early. Rozeboom is a gamble at best. Hopefully, they don’t overload Trotter with too much too early.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:47 pm
âThat makes sense. Flexibility and deception, not replacing a real edge with a guy 20 lbs. lighter or dropping the edge back. Smart.â
Yup, imagine being the center you look up after getting set, #45 has moved and youâre hearing the OT calling for an adjustment in protection. Trotter could be bait, and now that theyâve slid the line to account for him thatâs when you send a Parrish or Keionte Scott screaming in on a blitz.
As much as guys talk about 4-3 vs 3-4 here, we could legit use either of our nickels as âMoneybackerâ guys who can handle box duty while also being able to cover the middle of the field or anything breaking to the sideline. So now, that 4-2-5, can shift into a 4-3 look but still function against the pass as well just moving a player closer to the ball presnap.
June 18th, 2026 at 5:17 pm
âIf Bowles hasnât learned from his mistakes and has Trotter trying to cover guys like Bijan and James Cook, Trotter will get cooked.â
Wow what are we talking about here? Misuse to you is RBs being covered by ILBs? This game has been around for a long time at this point, nevermind.
Another example of a fan that dislikes Bowles to the point they make the most illogical statements in order to discredit standard practice in football at pretty much all levels