It’s not always how you start.
Selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft, Jeremiah Trotter was deactivated for seven of the first eight games of his NFL career before getting a chance to be on the field to play mostly on special teams.
However, 1999 was a new season and a new start. Becoming the starting middle linebacker for first-year head coach Andy Reid, Trotter led Philadelphia with 202 tackles.
“I wasn’t ready my rookie year. I wasn’t ready to play,” said Trotter. “I went through a lot. I lost my dad (Myra) right before mini-camp started.