Larry Foote has one word for Josiah Trotter, and he used it twice Thursday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ run game coordinator called the rookie linebacker mean, then explained how the player who has stepped into Lavonte David’s old role has learned to pick his spots in practice.
“[It’s] just his nature. He [has] an appetite to get to the ball. He is mean,” Foote said at his media availability Thursday. He pointed back to the summer, too. “You guys [saw] it in training camp. He is mean.”
Trotter is learning when to hit
Trotter spent his first training camp at the AdventHealth Training Center unloading on blockers. Thursday’s padded practice showed a more measured version. “We [had] pads on today, and that’s the right way to practice. He didn’t go kill the linemen, which he was doing in training camp,” Foote said. “He [has] to learn how to do his job, be physical, but save some of those [physical shots] for the game.”
Game days still get the full version. Trotter leads the Bucs with 37 tackles in four games, according to the team’s Week 6 preview, after a shoulder injury cost him the Week 3 loss to Minnesota. His 72.9 overall grade ranks 13th among 72 linebackers at PFF, and he has a sack and a pick-six on his rookie resume.
Alex Anzalone has made the adjustment easier. The veteran handles the talking in the middle of the defense, which leaves Trotter free to chase the ball. “Anzalone can do all the communication, and he can just focus on football,” Foote said of a pairing that showed up in the Week 5 win over Dallas.
Pittsburgh comes to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday with Jaylen Warren and his 410 rushing yards, a test for a linebacker who wants to get downhill. Trotter needs five tackles to break the franchise record of 41 through a player’s first five games, shared by Lavonte David in 2012 and Kendell Beckwith in 2017. With Jalon Daniels making another start while Baker Mayfield’s thumb heals, the 1-4 Bucs will lean on their defense, and Foote’s mean rookie gets to empty the tank against the Steelers.
More on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith Give Jalon Daniels a Reason to Wince in His Third NFL Start
- The Bucs’ Top-Two Run Defense Is Why the Steelers Game Is Winnable Without Baker Mayfield
- Bucs Could Break From Jason Licht’s Trade Habits if a 1-4 Record Turns Into a Rebuild
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Are Right to Slow-Play Baker Mayfield’s Return
