Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter faces his first real test in Joe Burrow

He barely played in the preseason, and his head coach is already talking him up. Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter has made enough of an impression in padded practices that Todd Bowles brought him up unprompted this week, ahead of a season opener that will throw the 21-year-old straight at one of the NFL's best passing offenses.

Who is Josiah Trotter

Trotter, born April 15, 2005, is a name that means little to a fan outside the United States, so here is the introduction. He started his college career at West Virginia, where a knee injury cost him his first season before he broke out in 2024 with 92 tackles and Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. He then transferred to Missouri for the 2025 season, where he earned first-team All-SEC recognition, and the Buccaneers took him in the second round of the 2026 NFL draft, the 46th overall pick.

Football runs in the family. His father, Jeremiah Trotter, was a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and even played three games for Tampa Bay in 2007. His older brother, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., is also an NFL linebacker, drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round in 2024.

What Bowles has said about him

Trotter did not see many preseason snaps, but Bowles has praised his command of the defense and his physicality. "Very vocal with his pads and he's always in the right place," Bowles said of Trotter this week, according to JoeBucsFan. The coach also credited the rookie's approach off the field, saying Trotter has earned respect from veteran teammates by studying the playbook rather than talking about his draft pedigree.

Where he fits in the linebacker room

Tampa Bay's linebacker room looks different than it did a year ago. Lavonte David, the franchise's defining linebacker of the past decade and a half, retired in April 2026 after 14 seasons, all with the Buccaneers. That leaves an opening Trotter is competing for, alongside SirVocea Dennis, Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom. BucsWorld's look at the roster moves before Cincinnati described that group, Anzalone, Trotter, Rozeboom and Dennis, as the depth now driving decisions elsewhere on the roster. Exactly how the snaps split between them in Cincinnati is not yet settled publicly, and BucsWorld is not treating Trotter as a confirmed starter until that becomes clear. What is clear is that he is part of the rotation Bowles plans to lean on.

Why Joe Burrow is the test

Whatever role Trotter plays Sunday, Cincinnati is not a gentle opponent to break in a rookie linebacker. Joe Burrow remains one of the league's most accurate passers, and Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins give him two receivers capable of winning against any coverage look, with Chase Brown providing a check-down and screen game underneath that specifically targets linebackers in space. Reading route combinations and staying disciplined in coverage against that kind of offense is a different challenge than anything Trotter faced at Missouri, and it is exactly the assignment Bowles was describing when he said the rookie is always in the right place: staying there against Burrow, not a college receiver, is the actual test.

Tampa Bay's defense as a whole is leaning into more aggression this season, as BucsWorld detailed in The Todd Bowles defense, by the numbers, and a rookie linebacker who can hold up in coverage lets Bowles blitz more freely elsewhere. If Trotter looks comfortable against Burrow's offense on September 13, it is an early sign the Bucs found a long-term answer at inside linebacker. If he does not, it will show up fast against a quarterback who finds the soft spot in a defense as well as anyone in the league.