Finally! Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. are going to rotate in for each other on the Philadelphia Eagles' defense starting in Week 6.
Technically, this was supposed to happen in the Eagles' Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio confirmed this in his press conference on Tuesday. Still, Trotter got ejected on the opening kickoff after a scuffle with Jaguars player Bryan Thomas Jr. (not the wide receiver). Fangio said that Campbell and Trotter will rotate in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers.
Eagles fans have been calling for this for weeks. Now Campbell has been put on notice: he had better step up, because Trotter is finally getting his time to shine.
Jihaad Campbell has more pressure now with Jeremiah Trotter Jr. rotating in Eagles' defense
To put it mildly, Campbell has had a bad season. Despite having a ton of tackles, that has not translated into success on the field. In five games, he has racked up 42 tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, and one sack.
Campbell has struggled the most in coverage, earning a passer rating of 111.1. Pro Football Focus's coverage grade shows he has a 50.6, ranking 49th out of 72 eligible linebackers.
PFF also gave Campbell an overall grade of 53, which ranks 61st out of 72 linebackers. He added a pass-rush grade of 69.2 (ranked 25th).
When Trotter isn't being stupid and getting thrown out of games, he's been great on the field this season, on defense and special teams. He's recorded 19 tackles and one pass deflection in five games, with one start and playing just 26% of the defensive snaps.
PFF has him graded 66.7 overall but not ranked because he hasn't played enough snaps. He also has a coverage grade of 69.4 and a pass-rush grade of 69.9.
There's a clear path to finding Trotter a spot on this defense that Fangio should have done weeks ago. With Campbell being such a liability in coverage, Trotter needs to be rotated in on passing downs at the least.
Honestly, Trotter and Campbell should have a 50-50 splitreps 50/50, with Zack Baun on the field for as close to 100% of the snaps as possible. Campbell is still good to have on the field because he can rush the quarterback on blitzes, but he shouldn't be on the field in passing situations.
It leaves many wondering whether Fangio made the right call by not training Campbell as much of an edge rusher. The Eagles flirted with the idea last year, but Fangio finally put a stop to that this year.
At Alabama, Campbell was excellent off the edge and pressured the quarterback. With Jalyx Hunt hurt and expected to miss time, and Jonathan Greenard's status uncertain, this would have felt like a good time for Campbell to play there, but it's too late now.
Trotter is there at least to cover Campbell's flaw and help the defense. The two can really help this defense by complementing their skills and giving them the best of both worlds.
It's disappointing to see it come to this point because Campbell is a former first-round pick and should be taking significant strides in Year 2. Instead, it feels like he took a step back and is hurting the franchise's future.
At the same time, it's about time Trotter is getting his playing time and love. He's been a grinder on this team and has more than earned the right to play more on defense, so this is long overdue.
Read more: New data perfectly sums up Eagles' 2026 season (and vindicates Nick Sirianni)
Eagles fans are about to find out whether this will work well for the defense to rotate Trotter and Campbell in. This could either get Campbell to step up and play better or have Trotter permanently overtake him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google