FanHouse Jeremiah Trotter

The Philadelphia Eagles have been battling depth issues at linebacker all season. Starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley was lost in training camp, and things got so bad that former Eagle Jeremiah Trotter was brought back.

Trotter was awful against the Oakland Raiders Sunday, and head coach Andy Reid apparently has seen enough. Tuesday, as the NFL's usually quiet trade deadline approached, Reid pulled off a deal to add a solid veteran to the mix.

Coming off an easy victory in Kansas City, the Eagles have made a pair of roster moves involving big names. Jeff Garcia, who was brought in as quarterback depth after Donovan McNabb fell injured, has now been released. In a corresponding move, the Eagles have brought back linebacker Jeremiah Trotter for a third stint in Philadelphia.

The move to release Garcia isn't all that shocking. The Eagles lost McNabb after Week 1. At the time, Michael Vick was still suspended and Kevin Kolb had never started an NFL game. Now, Vick is back and Kolb became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards in each of his first two career starts. Plus, with a bye this week, it's likely McNabb will be ready to start in Week 5. There was simply no need to carry four quarterbacks.

This is a slightly modified segment of one that was run on NFL FanHouse last year, in which a specific team blogger scours the internet and interviews a blogger of the opposing team.

I began this season by interviewing Sean Portnoy of Eagles Eye, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dan Benton: "Another year, another group of receivers for the Philadelphia Eagles. Who will be Donovan McNabb's go-to guy this weekend?"

Sean Portnoy: "Reggie Brown had a fine season in his second year, serving as the #2 guy when Donte Stallworth was in the lineup and the top receiver when Stallworth was injured. Brown doesn't have the size and/or speed to make you think he's a legit #1 wideout, but the way the Eagles like to spread the ball around, he doesn't need to catch 100 passes. It'll be interesting to see if Kevin Curtis can handle the transition from mostly being a slot guy to someone playing out wide and having to get separation from press coverage. McNabb's usual safety valve, L.J. Smith, is recovering from sports hernia surgery and a separate groin injury, so he may be limited on Sunday. The sleeper guy who could wind up being the second coming of Chad Lewis is Brent Celek, the team's fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati. The rookie tight end played really well in the preseason, and Andy Reid sometimes likes to play promising first-year guys right away in order to see if they can handle the "baptism by fire." Don't be surprised if Celek catches a couple of passes in the middle of the field on third down."

ESPNews, Pro Football Talk and PewterReport.com are reporting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.

The addition of Trotter should make an immediate difference to the Bucs' defense, as he's a tough, smart player who won't take long to learn a new system. At the same time, the Tampa Bay system that coordinator Monte Kiffin runs is not a particularly good fit for Trotter. Middle linebackers in the Tampa 2 tend to be smaller and faster than the 262-pound Trotter, and he is more likely to be a situational player on short-yardage plays than an every-down linebacker.

Trotter's got a fancy official web site, but he really needs to update it now to get all the Eagles stuff off.

Although most people seem to think Tampa Bay is his most likely landing spot, former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter still hasn't found a new home. What's taking so long?

It might be that no team wants to guarantee his salary, which is the practical effect of having him on the opening-day roster. From ESPN In$ider:

Trotter might wait another week or two before signing with a new franchise. The Bucs brought Trotter in for a visit, but he would have to go to Tampa Bay as a backup to first-year starter Barrett Ruud and perhaps as one of the inside linebackers when coordinator Monte Kiffin springs the 3-4 front he has been practicing in camp on opponents. But Trotter would prefer to wait awhile and see if a starting spot opens up elsewhere.

Eagles coach Andy Reid unwittingly didn't do Trotter any favors by acknowledging he suggested the nine-year veteran consider retirement before Philadelphia released him. Some teams have backed off their interest in Trotter because they figure if Reid felt he didn't have much left in the tank, that is enough for them. Look for Trotter, though, to have a home sometime in the first couple weeks of the season. And remember, most teams will wait until after the opening game to sign any "vested" veterans (players with more than four seasons of experience) who are released this weekend. Why? Because vested veterans who are on teams' opening-day rosters have their base salaries guaranteed for the full year. By waiting until after the opening game, franchises can avoid the guarantee.

In a strange way, this is an instance in which a rule designed to help veteran players might actually hurt them. If you're a vested veteran who's anxious to get with a new team, any rule that makes teams hesitant to sign you is a rule that isn't helping you.

During the Philadelphia Eagles-Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game last night on NBC, sideline reporter Andrea Kremer revealed that Jeremiah Trotter's agent has confirmed talks with the New York Giants.

But before anyone reads too much into this, it was also revealed that Trotter's agent was the one that initiated contact. Additionally, agents generally "confirm" more talks than there actually are in order to increase interest in their clients.

The Giants have already stated they have "zero interest" in Trotter, but anything is possible. Given the injuries to Gerris Wilkinson (knee) and Kawika Mitchell (groin), New York may find themselves in the market for another linebacker, but probably not a middle linebacker.

I highly doubt the Giants will consider Trotter, but I'll keep an eye on the situation regardless.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will bring in linebacker Jeremiah Trotter for a workout today, two days after he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Trotter doesn't strike me as a great fit in the defense that Bucs coordinator Monte Kiffin runs. Kiffin likes his middle linebackers to be the rangy types who can drop into pass coverage 15 yards downfield when necessary. Trotter is more the plug-the-middle style of linebacker.

Still, Trotter is one of the few healthy veteran free agents available right now, and any team that's hoping to upgrade its defense has to at least be considering giving him a look.

Currently, the Bucs' depth chart lists Cato June as the starter on the strong side, Barrett Ruud in the middle and Derrick Brooks on the weak side. If the Bucs are convinced that Trotter can be an upgrade over Ruud, they'll pull the trigger.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- Today's biggest story was the return of wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who had been out since August 2nd with a sprained ankle. Perhaps even more encouraging was his performance on the field. Plax caught a nice hook from Eli Manning in front of R.W. McQuarters, and later put a move on Corey Webster that nearly broke his ankles.

- Back-up tight end Kevin Boss also had a big day with quite a few spectacular grabs. His most impressive catch came on pass from quarterback Jared Lorenzen which sailed through the hands of wide receiver David Tyree.

- Coach Tom Coughlin, who has battled it out with Tiki Barber for about two years, seemed pleased with Eli's response to Barber's latest criticisms.

"I think he thought about what he was going to do and decided he'd say exactly what he felt. More power to him," Coughlin said.

You know deep down Coughlin was chanting "Eli! Eli! Eli!"