The Buccaneers got a glimpse of why they were so intrigued by Josiah Trotter, and it came in the most dramatic way possible in Week 1.
The rookie linebacker, a second-round pick, was supposed to have coverage questions hanging over him. Instead, he showed up in the right spot at the right time against Joe Burrow, picked off the Bengals quarterback, and took it back for a touchdown.
The return helped swing Tampa Bay back into the game, even though the Bucs still ended up on the wrong side of the result. Trotter’s first NFL game also included a sack and more than five tackles.
“I knew what I could do coming into the draft, but at the end of the day I knew in the meantime I could show everybody that I can cover people,” Trotter said via the team website. “Now I’ve got to do it next week, I’ve got to make more plays, more things I can still clean up in the passing game, but just thank God I was able to go out there and play, trust my instincts, and ultimately get a pick and help my team out.”
Todd Bowles liked what he saw, too, even while making it clear there’s more work ahead.
“It’s a good play on his part,” Bowles said. “It’s a play he blew from practice, he learned from it, and made a play from there.
He made some good plays for us in the run. Obviously, there are some things he still has to learn and get better at, but you know, you can tell he’s a gamer, just seeing him get that play and help us get back in the game.”
In Carolina, Dave Canales stood by his defensive coordinator after a rough one. The Panthers allowed 59 points, but Canales said he still believes in the structure in place under Ejiro Evero.
“ I like our system, I like our scheme,” Canales said, via Panthers Wire. “I’ve seen this scheme work at a high level, and I’ve seen us work in this scheme at a high level. And we need to find that week in and week out.
Down in New Orleans, Chris Olave is making his peace with the Guardian cap - and he’s not planning to go back.
The Saints receiver was initially put off by the look of it, like plenty of players who think the soft helmet cover makes them look like a bobblehead or the Nintendo character Toad. But after dealing with concussions in his career, he decided to give it a shot this summer, helped along by the cap’s sleeker redesign. The results in Week 1 spoke for themselves: nearly 200 receiving yards, and a new outlook on the gear.
“Y’all know all the head injuries I’ve had in my career,” Olave said via NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson. “… I’ve got kids now.
I want to be able to live the long game. It’s not all about football; I want to live a regular life after I’m done with football.
I love my kids to death, so I don’t really care how it looks no more. I just gotta throw it on, and it did me good today.”
In Other News...
Chase Young Just Showed What This Saints Team Will Not Accept
After the Saints came up just short against the Detroit Lions in the opener, Chase Young made it clear the mood in the locker room was not going to be one of consolation. He said the team does not accept moral victories, a line that landed with extra weight because New Orleans is trying to build something in a rebuilding year while still demanding a standard that looks a lot more immediate than that label suggests.
Youngs comments offer a useful snapshot of the culture the Saints are trying to sustain. Even with a roster in transition, there is still an expectation that close losses are not something to be filed away as progress, and that the focus has to stay on winning outright. For a team trying to define itself early, voices like his can go a long way toward setting the tone. [Read more 🡒]
Former Saints Tight End Lands In A 49ers Move Worth Watching
The 49ers turned to a familiar veteran for help at tight end, adding Jack Stoll to their practice squad after a severe knee injury hit backup Jake Tonges. Stoll has been around the block, with stops in Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans and Cleveland, and he gives San Francisco another experienced body as it tries to keep the position steady behind its starters.
For Saints followers, it is a small but notable reminder of how quickly a backup tight end can become part of a much larger depth chart shuffle. Stoll never stayed long in New Orleans, but his latest move shows the value teams still place on a player who knows the league, can be plugged in quickly and can help cover the gaps when injuries start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Just Got Pulled Into A Notable Joey Porter Jr. Rumor
Joey Porter Jr. has become part of a wider trade conversation after failing to land a long-term extension with the Steelers, and the Saints are now among the six teams mentioned as a possible fit. New Orleans would make sense on paper for any club looking to fortify its secondary, but at this stage the talk is more about identifying interested teams than signaling anything imminent.
The bigger wrinkle is that a move still looks far off, with Pittsburgh expected to lean on the franchise tag if needed and push any serious contract resolution until after the season. The Bears have drawn the most attention as a potential partner because of their pass defense needs and the old draft history between Chicago and Pittsburgh, but for the Saints and the rest of the field, this is still the kind of rumor that hangs around without quite becoming real. [Read more 🡒]