Eagles Release Jeremiah Trotter

I know he's lost a step, but I gotta say, I'm shocked by this news. The Eagles have released LB Jeremiah Trotter. Further details to come from the team at 1:30PM (WIP is reporting 1PM), but it's already been announced at www.philadelphiaeagles.com.

We'll miss ya, Axe Man.

The team's official site is schitzing, probably due to all the shocked fans logging on simultaneously. More on the cut at The FanHouse, where Michael David Smith theorizes that we may see Trot twice this season... in Giants Blue.

(thanks to johndewar for the tip)

Comments

[Tartan69]

Age catches up with everyone.

However, I don't buy that the Eagles didn't have a spot on a FIFTY-FIVE man roster for him though. Glad they're now able to keep 12 WRs. Nice way to treat your veteran leadership, Andy Reid.

[Matt P]

Age... Trotter's 29 or 30... it's sad.

[Walklett]

Say it ain't so. I think the management is making a huge mistake. Lost step or not, his presence in the locker room alone is worth keeping him on this roster. How will the rest of the team react to this? I know it's a business, but this deflates team morale instantly. They cut Trotter before one of our two punters!? Bullshit.

[gootman]

Surprising he got axed(pun intended). I guess they are satisfied with Gathier's play and would rather keep their younger(cheaper) players. I guess they cut him early so he has a chance to catch on with another team.

[Mike]

We all new he was going to come off for passing plays, just like last year, and he didn't really impress me too much against the run, so there you have it. Best of luck to you, Trot.

[Lauren]

I'm okay with this. Gaither is better than Trotter. My brother will be pissed though, he bought his jersey last year.

[Chris]

Perhaps it's a situation where they cut him early to give him a chance to catch on elsewhere?

I have to admit that I am sjocked. I thought that he was a lock to make this team. Maybe they are cleaning out other leaders so that #5 can assert his leaderness?

[johndewar]

I get the thinking here....get the younger, cheaper Gaither in there, but all of the talk was around Trott coming back this year svelter and better than ever.

What I've even more shocked by is that ESPN is speculating that Takeo Spikes will play the middle.

Huh?

Has this guy even played a full season lately? And he's going to withstand the punishment of playing the middle of the field? Really?

In addition to opening up time for Gaither, this also opens up a spot for Stew Bradley to get more PT.

[jason]

While I'm a bit surprised, can't say that this move isn't really warranted. Everyone knows Trotter is/was a liability against the pass and was there to stop the run, but there's no rule that says you can't pass on 1st and 2nd down, taking advantage of trotter's pass coverage skills or lack thereof. plus, we really wasn't too much of an asset against the run last year.

[jason]

jonhndewar - that espn info came from len pasquerelli, hardly a reliable source. i suspect gaither will take trotter's spot. he even practiced at middle linebacker with the first team yesterday.

[Run Up The Score]

I just mentioned this over at my place, but the philly.com blurb seems to imply that Trotter and Reid will address the media after practice today, and I took that to mean that they'd be talking to the media together.

Isn't it just as likely that Trotter is retiring? I know the Giants defense is pretty bad, but I don't see how them adding Jeremiah Trotter and his shredded knees help anyone but the Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins.

[ryan]

I love Jeremiah Trotter...that said I have all of the faith in the world in the Eagles front office. They let him go once, and he faded off into mediocrity w/o the Eagles and apparently they have enough faith in Gaither to produce as an every down linebacker. I just hope we can stay healthy at LB, since it looks like our starters will be Spikes, Gaither, and Gocong leaving McCoy and Bradley as our top bench players at the position. I havn't been able to see any preseason games, but maybe Tank Daniels, Dedrick Roper, or Akeem Jordan have shown some flashes that they can put in significant time at LB as well. So long Trott, and good luck (except when you play the birds). I guess it's time to retire my black J-Trott jersey.

[Meg]

I am stunned.

I always thought of Trotter and Dhani Jones as a package deal but I was hoping they would keep Trotter even after they got rid of Dhani.

[Matt P]

RUTS,
I heard on WIP that the Birds suggested he retire, but that he wants to test the market.

[Masterlock Jr.]

Trotter gone eh? Well, it was a great run, but I dont think he is going to be missed in a big way on the field...but off it, he was great for the team. bringing him back as a LB coach would be money.

[J. Weitzel]

I'm concerned. They're awfully inexperienced up the middle now. It strikes me as a pretty big risk.

[Joe Manning]

I think this is a completely retarded move.

Whoever commented about the whole "morale" thing is totally right. Trotter was one of the main leaders of this team - and his presence is certainly worth a roster spot. Hell, put him in there in obvious running situations, and that's it, I don't care.

This is similar to when the Eagles cut Hugh Douglas right before the season two or three years ago. He was also a veteran leader, and maybe his tank was empty - but has our D-Line been any better since he left?

This just seems like such an innapropriate time to do this - with our LB core being re-vamped. Now you have Spikes, who has been injured, and just joined the team; Gaither, who looked good last year, but only played half the season; and Gocong, who has NEVER EVEN PLAYED THE POSITION IN HIS LIFE before. Seems like you would want a four-time pro-bowler in there, even if just as a teacher to the other guys.

There is some validity to the whole "arrogant" stereotype of the Eagles front office. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt them. If Trotter signs with the Giants I will vomit.

[Ian]

I think what happened was they watched film trying to figure out whether to cut McCoy, Akeem Jordan, or Tank Daniels. They decided to keep all three or two of them and cut Trotter. They’ve been playing Gaither and Bradley in the middle.

Although money may come into play, I think this is a football decision; the timing indicates as much. Not only based on Trotter’s coverage skills, but perhaps also on run defense.

It’s the coaches’ job to improve the defense, and they do what they have to do and are accountable after the post-season. Trott was the answer to the run defense problems a few years back. He hasn’t exactly been stuffing the run lately, though I don’t really have an opinion of this move other than it doesn’t bother me from a football standpoint.

[Ian]

The timing's wierd because they aren't making cuts yet, but that indicates they were certain of their choice and perhaps wanted to give Trot a chance to stick somewhere else.

[Ian]

There's no question Gaither is ready to start in the middle btw, he proved that last year.

[the Krisheim]

Nothing surprises me anymore.

It will be very interesting if/when he signs with another NFC East team, especially a team like NY who needs bodies on the defensive side.

[Kulp]

Wow... so much to be said here that hasn't been said. First, Trotter will be missed, he's an Eagle all the way.

A lot of commenters are talking about leadership and morale. Back in 2004, this front office allowed Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent to walk to allow their young corners to start. That turned out pretty good for us. Somebody else mentioned Hugh, and while the defensive line hasn't been great since then, I'm not sure how it hurt.

The Eagles have been winning this way for years now, and I think we should get over this morale stuff. Tom Brady was pissed last year when the Pats traded Deion Branch, but he still managed to take the team deep into the playoffs. The players know it's a business and none of the guys are going to play any less hard because Trot got cut.

I think the other important thing to note is some people are talking about the young linebackers and saying this might be a cost move. Well I think it's a special teams decision more than that. You have to have so many of your backup linebackers contribute on special teams. It's fierce out there, so you can't expect Trotter to participate in 20 special teams plays per game and still be effective at stopping the run.

[rothdawg]

I love how everyone's pimping out Gaither like he's some sort of stud. Granted, he played well last year in limited action, but a starting MLB in the NFL? He is very, very undersized. Apparently JJ has no problem with undersized MLB, remember Barry Gardner and Mark Simoneau?

This linebacker core doesn't seem too scary, starting two unproven second-year players and a 30 year old coming off a serious injury.

[Chamomiles Davis]

My first reaction to this news was the same as everyone else's: I was shocked.

However, I have to give the Eagles' front office credit for making what is, without question, a move that is extremely unpopular with the fans in order to focus on the future.

The bottom line is, ultimately, the bottom line. If the fans got to dictate who stayed and who left, we'd still have Freddie Mitchell and Duce Staley on the roster (and Reggie White would have retired as an Eagle -- which in retrospect wouldn't have been a bad idea, except the owner at the time was a cheap idiot).

[Michael C]

shocked shocked shocked. I can't imagine this will go over well in the locker room. The only thing I think, piggybacking on Kulp, is that the Eagles thought they were better off with Gaither starting, and didn't think Trot could contribute on special teams. but still, wow. He was an Eagle, and that's the best I can say it.

[pilgrim]

This whole "locker room presence" and "team morale" concept is way overrated. What, the players are going to fall into a deep depression without Trot being there? They are going to be unable to find their way from the locker room to the field and thus will have to forfeit games?

I was as shocked as anyone to learn that Trot is gone; he's provided a lot of thrills over the years and has earned a lot of respect. But I can't help but trust the Eagles front office in making this move- the only big blunder they've really made in regard to letting someone go was Burgess.

[Gaze]

Assuming everyone stays healthy, the linebacker position would be pretty solid but I'll be the first person chewing out Big Red if someone gets hurt. Trotter would at a minimum make an excellent reserve player. I sure hope this wasn't a "money move."

[Ray]

the move makes sense if trotter isn't gonna start. He's not gonna come in on passing downs and the backup linebackers need to contribute to special teams. I also agree the whole thing with him being a leader in the locker room is overrated. There are still leaders on this team and it only becomes a big issue when you have assholes like TO on the team. And why are people blaming reid for this? was it his move or heckert's and the rest of management?

[Michael C]

Reid is both coach and GM, so while Heckert, et al probably have some input, I can't imagine that if Reid wanted Trot here, he wouldn't be here.

And I do trust the management, and think that in general their decisions re: veteran players work out, except that I think it also makes fewer players willing to give the Eagles the 'hometown' discount.

[tagryn]

It's the nature of the business. Trot can't cover or play special teams, and he's been having trouble recently pursuing RBs to the outside as well. His wheels just aren't good enough anymore; he's become a slightly more mobile version of Levon Kirkland (when he was here). However popular Trot was, that's the cold reality of the situation.

[Ian]

If Gaither’s size becomes a liability in running plays then they’ll use Bradley in the middle.

I was surprised when they moved Gaither into the middle after the Spikes trade, then I was surprised that they worked Bradley out in the middle rather than just in SAM. Now I know why. Gary Cobb has some good articles, suggesting that Trott was under the gun all of camp.

If they cut him on a sunny day there would be more of a show of solidarity at Trot’s Spot car wash, but perhaps that’s for next week.

[Mike]

Trott's Spot unfortunately closed a while ago. Foreshadowing perhaps?

[Juanos]

Honestly, how can this shock anyone? If it does, you just haven't been paying attention to the way the Birds operate, or watched Trotter play lately.

Sorry for the lack of sympathy, but there is no reason to keep a player on a roster, no matter how great a leader, just to be a locker room presence.

Anyone out there still think Kolb was taken because "he was the best player on the board"? Nope.

[Lauren]

All I'm going to say is that I'm going to miss him. He's one of my favorite players.

[Ian]

Mike, good to know about Trott's, I'd switched to the coin operation Gocong Yourself.

[Paul M. Redmond]

The area we will miss Trot the most is emotionally. Even as fans we are very emotional and trot brought great emotional intensity to the field we we surely miss. I cant believe the didn't keep him on as a backup at his minimal salary the leadearship on and off the field would have been well worth it. I got my Trot jersey the first time he was here I will sadly have to put it away again under the wrong circumstances.