Bucs rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter is on a fast track to becoming one of the two starters at the position in Tampa Bay’s defense. During the entirety of training camp, Trotter has stood out more than any of the other inside linebackers after being constantly involved in plays.

The moments have varied from stopping the run, blitzing and even having good some pass coverage moments, including a near pick in the joint practices with the Jets two weeks ago. On Wednesday in Jacksonville, Trotter finally got the job done with an interception against the Jaguars in Wednesday’s joint practice off of Trevor Lawrence. Each day brings a better understanding of his role on the defense.

“I feel like the game has been slowing down pretty [quickly],” Trotter said after practice. “Football is football at the end of the day, especially when you have a brother and a dad that played, so [I am] just blessed to have them. I feel like the game coming in was pretty slowed down. It’s just the detailed things, trying to be very detailed in your work. I feel like that’s the biggest thing in the NFL that I’ve seen. It’s just the little things between making a play and not making a play, little things like that.”

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With injuries to fourth-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis and new veteran Christian Rozeboom, Trotter has essentially secured the starting role next to Alex Anzalone. It’s not by process of elimination either, Trotter has earned the right to lead the defensive side for Tampa Bay.

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter Has A Natural Feel For The Game

What’s been the bread and butter for Trotter is his ability to get down hill, move past an oncoming blocker and get to the line of scrimmage to stop the running back for little to no gain. Sometimes it’s even getting a tackle for loss. How good is he at attacking the line of scrimmage? Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said it’s a skill that you can’t teach, you just have it.

“He’s an instinctive football player,” Bowles said of the Bucs’ rookie. “He’s very smart. He’s not just strong, he’s savvy. He knows how to slip blocks when it’s time to slip blocks, and you can’t teach that.”

When asked about what’s the key to his big move of slipping past blockers, even Trotter couldn’t exactly explain it.

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Sometimes it’s just God-given abilities and gifts,” Trotter said. “I just thank God that he blessed me with the instincts to do it. It’s just a feel. When you’re out there, you can’t think too much, you just got to play and you just got to have a feel for the game to know when to do it, when not to do it between what you’re seeing, what you’re feeling. It’s just a feel of the game that a lot of people, they don’t know unless they played the game. Not a lot of people know, so really it’s just a feel.”

Josiah Trotter: “I Wish I Could Be On The Field For Five Downs”

The one knock on Josiah Trotter coming out of Mizzou and entering the NFL with the Bucs was that there was work to be done in pass coverage and that may limit his ability to be a three-down inside linebacker. Trotter has answered the skeptics and has the utmost belief that he’ll be an every-down player.

“Oh, yes, no doubt,” Trotter said. “Coming in, I know there’s outside noise, people saying I could or could not, but I knew what I could do. I knew what God put inside of me. So, I just wanted to come out here and show that I could not only just cover, I could blitz, pass rush and be everything that the Bucs need me to be for this organization, and then try to win football games, ultimately.

“If I need to be on the field. If there were five downs, I wish I could be on the field for five downs. Ultimately, I’m just trying to do what I can to show the organization what I can do to be able to stay on the field.”

There’s one more preseason game to play and there’s been no update on whether or not Trotter will suit up to gain more experience or if Todd Bowles will save him for Cincinnati in Week 1. Will he be named a starter as a rookie? Bowles didn’t commit to it yet, but it sounds like he’s close.

“He’s good enough to start,” Bowles said. “We haven’t made that decision yet. We’ve still got some ways to go before we make that.”