In what was a frustrating season opener for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter was a bright spot.
Trotter was everywhere, making tackles, getting after the quarterback, and defending passes. He finished with a team-leading 10 tackles, a sack, a pick-six and a pass defended.
He made NFL history in the process, becoming the first player ever to record both a sack and a pick-six in his pro debut.
Josiah Trotter already looks like a home run draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s rare for a rookie defender to make such a massive impact in his first season, let alone his first game.
After a few years of lacking physicality and playmaking ability at the linebacker position, Trotter flashed both of those qualities in the season opener. He has the makings of a franchise player in Tampa Bay who could lead this defense for years to come.
Trotter was the team’s best linebacker by a long shot, outplaying veteran team captain Alex Anzalone, who struggled mightily against the Bengals.
Given how much work the rookie still has to do, and the fact that he’s still only 21 years old, it’s scary to think about just how good he could be. There is no telling how high his ceiling is, and the fact that he’s still so raw makes it even more encouraging that he’s already making such a massive impact.
Earlier in the offseason, franchise legend and Hall of Famer Rondé Barber had this to say about the sentiment surrounding Trotter within the organization:
“[Trotter] was going to be a day one starter and possibly the best player on the defense. That’s not my opinion, that’s everybody in the building’s opinion. Just watching him play, watching him lead… He’s a 21-year-old rookie but he’s got this presence about him that says ‘I’m gonna be a badass’. He’s the one."
The Bucs' brass clearly has high hopes for what Trotter could become, and the rookie wasted no time justifying their belief.
Trotter could become the next in line for a franchise that has become synonymous with elite linebacker play. Derrick Brooks and Lavonte David lead the way, but Hardy Nickerson, Shelton Quarles, and (early-career) Devin White all reached Pro Bowl or All-Pro heights in Tampa Bay.
Trotter is only just getting started, and if his historic first game is any indication, he could be next up in a long line of great Buccaneers linebackers.
Make no mistake, what we saw from Trotter yesterday is only the beginning for a player who has the potential to become a cornerstone of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google