Trotting On Back

MLB Trotter returns to Eagles

Jeremiah Trotter's had a strange career.

Ray Rhodes drafted him in 1998, his final year as coach, talked him up incessantly during camp... then never played him. I mean NEVER. I don't remember who the starting middle linebacker was - for some reason James Willis's name is rattling around in my head - but you'd have thought this guy was Singletary for Trotter not to be playing.

The next year, Reid came abuard, and the Eagles drafted Barry Gardner, also a middle linebacker, in the second round, mostly because they didn't know what they had with Trotter 'cause he never saw the field his rookie season. Well, Trotter ended up living up to expectations. Big, fast, smart, liked to hit people. That's what you want out of a middle linebacker.

Two Pro Bowls later, the Eagles put the franchise tag on him. Some bad things happened. Things were said, the kinds of things you regret, and the Eagles tired of it and lifted the franchise tag. Soon, Trotter was off to the Redskins as part of one of Daniel Snyder's blind spending sprees.

Didn't work out so well. There wasn't a major dropoff in his numbers, but he wasn't the same player, especially after he blew out his knee in 2002. Needing cap space (SHOCK!), the Redskins cut him on June 1.

So he's back, ostensibly to help the Eagles' run defense, which took a dive after he left. Some of that was due to his departure, yes. But another factor - and one that I'm annoyed nobody else (including, by the way, the Eagles themselves) ever addressed was that they had four defensive linemen get hurt last season, among them their best run stoppers.

The lesson? People in need do unexpected things.

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Also, Lista Caliente update.