The Eagles may have finally turned linebacker from a weak spot into a strength, but that doesn’t mean the room is settled beyond the top two names.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is still getting first-team work in minicamp, even with Jihaad Campbell lined up to start next to Zack Baun. And that arrangement is no accident. Vic Fangio wants the Eagles mixing and matching now so they aren’t forced to figure it out for the first time in a game.
“We'll mix and match it all the time,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week. “I think it's very important in training camp that you're not always working with the same guy next to you, particularly at ILB and safety, because things happen.”
That means Trotter keeps getting chances to show what he can do with the starters, and he’s made the most of them. He keeps showing up around the football and finding ways to get involved when he’s on the field with the first unit.
For Philadelphia, this is a much different linebacker picture than the one the organization used to carry. There was a time when the position wasn’t treated with much urgency, either in free agency or the draft.
That changed with Baun, who became an All-Pro and then got paid, and with Nakobe Dean developing into a quality starter under Fangio. Then came Campbell, the first linebacker taken in Round 1 since 1979, giving the Eagles a rare premium investment at the spot.
Campbell is expected to be the starter alongside Baun this season, and the first-team jobs are basically spoken for. But he’s still being pushed this summer, just like he was a year ago.
Trotter Jr. stood out last summer when Campbell was working back from shoulder surgery and Dean was recovering from a torn patella tendon. Campbell eventually got healthy and started the year, but Trotter kept pressing for the job throughout camp.
Now in his third season, Trotter is still hanging around the conversation because he keeps making plays. He’s relying on instincts and what he’s learned from his father, and Fangio sees him as a player who can start somewhere in this league.
The path to the field is tighter now, though. Campbell is no longer splitting time with edge rusher work and will stay at linebacker full time, which makes the competition tougher for Trotter. Still, Fangio wants him ready because the Eagles know injuries can change the picture fast.
“This chance could come in Philadelphia is Campbell or Baun has to miss time, which is why Fangio has him with the first team in camp. Fangio is trying to make the transition as easy as possible.
"All of a sudden at ILB, Jihaad can't play and now Baun has to work with Jeremiah. We don't want the first time that happens to be in a game," Fangio said.
"They need to work with each other and practice some. Same thing with safety - those are the two main positions.
There's others, but you have to mix and match a lot."
Baun will handle the green dot as the play caller this season, which should keep him on the field plenty. Campbell is set at the other inside linebacker spot, and Trotter is third on the depth chart.
The Eagles also want Campbell getting as many inside linebacker reps as possible after last season’s juggling act. Fangio pointed to the stretches when Campbell had to slide to outside linebacker because the team was short-handed.
"If you remember, there was a few weeks there where we had to play him at outside linebacker because we ran out of guys," Fangio said. "That set him back a little bit as an ILB. It helped, no doubt."
For now, the plan is clear: Baun and Campbell are the Week 1 starters when healthy, while Trotter continues rotating in and preparing for the moment his number is called.
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