Thursday, September 24, 2009

By Andy Schwartz
CSNPhilly.com

The circus continues.

The Eagles on Thursday worked out free agent middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Trotter, 32, last played in 2007 for Tampa Bay after being ceremoniously released by the Eagles.

Trotter told Comcast SportsNet that head coach Andy Reid called him Thursday morning and requested the workout. Trotter saw members of the coaching staff at Jim Johnson’s funeral in August and at another function.

“They said I looked like I was in great shape,” Trotter said. “I told them I’ve been working out and training. They knew I had visited a team this offseason and I was staying in shape. I told them I could help them out.”

So they brought him in for an evaluation.

“They said I did a good job,” Trotter said. “I looked light on my feet. I looked quick and had explosion.”

Selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 1998 draft, the hard-hitting and demonstrative Trotter became one of the most popular players in team history. He spent seven seasons with the Eagles in two separate stints.

After playing his first four seasons in Philadelphia, an infuriated Trotter eschewed the franchise tag and joined the Redskins for two forgettable years before returning to the Eagles in 2004.

A backup to begin the season, Trotter reprised his role as the starter – replacing Mark Simoneau – shored up the run defense and helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Trotter was named to the Pro Bowl in the two seasons before he left for Washington and the two seasons after he returned.

Bothered by persistent knee problems throughout his career – he tore his ACL with the Redskins in 2002 and often would joke that he couldn’t pass a physical – Trotter was cut before the 2007 season and signed with the Bucs, for whom he played three games, starting one.

On the day of his release, the Eagles set up a farewell press conference for Trotter. Brian Dawkins didn’t even get one of those.

A picture of Trotter from Super Bowl media day still hangs in the hallway near the public relations office of the NovaCare Complex.

Having lost starter Stewart Bradley in training camp to a torn ACL, the Eagles are dangerously thin at middle linebacker. Second-year pro Joe Mays failed to earn the starting spot, forcing the Eagles to use veteran Omar Gaither.

Gaither replaced Trotter as the starter in 2007 but moved to the weak side the next season, only to be replaced by Akeem Jordan.

Mays missed the first two games of this season with a shoulder injury suffered in the preseason but practiced Wednesday and Thursday.

Had Gaither been forced to leave either of those two games, Chris Gocong would have moved to the middle and been replaced on the strong side by seventh-round pick Moise Fokou.

After Bradley’s injury, the Eagles signed veteran Matt Wilhelm, but he was among their final cuts.

All of that said, Trotter’s return would be nothing short of astonishing. But he’s still hopeful.

“I’m very excited, not only just [for a chance to be back in] the NFL but hopefully possibly a chance to get back with the Eagles, the team that I spent most of my career with and where really made my biggest impact,” Trotter said. “It would be awesome. This is home for me, and it couldn’t be a better situation for myself and my family.”

E-mail Andy Schwartz at aschwartz@comcastsportsnet.com.