‘Just Thank God’: Trotter Jr., Trotter Sr. Discuss Jr. Winning Super Bowl
By: Gavin Oliver February 10, 2025

In February 2005, Jeremiah Trotter Sr. played in Super Bowl XXXIX as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, losing a close one to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

But two decades later, a proud Trotter Sr. got to witness his son, former Clemson star Jeremiah Trotter Jr., win a Super Bowl championship ring with the Eagles.

The Trotters were able to celebrate together and share a special moment on the field following the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Trotter Jr. capped his rookie season with the Super Bowl championship after being selected by the Eagles in the fifth round (No. 155 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft, joining the organization where his father spent eight of his 12 NFL seasons and earned four Pro Bowl selections as well as a spot in the organization’s Hall of Fame.

“I thank God [for] just being with me, to be a part of this great organization,” Trotter Jr. said in a postgame interview with Pete Prisco of CBS Sports. “I’m so happy for the fans, the coaches, my teammates. But it’s hard to describe this feeling.”

Added Trotter Sr.: “Like he said, just thank God. Just thank God for the opportunity for him to be [in] the best organization in the National Football League. Getting a Super Bowl win his first year as a rookie, it’s tough to do, man. You’re not guaranteed to be back here. So, I just told him to enjoy the moment, have fun, go out there and play free. And man, the team, that was an ole-fashioned butt-whooping right there. I’m just excited for everybody.”

The younger Trotter spent three years at Clemson from 2021-23 and was named as an All-American in both 2022 and 2023, becoming Clemson’s first multi-time All-American at linebacker since Keith Adams in 1999 and 2000.

On Sunday, Trotter Jr. recorded a tackle for a dominant Eagles defense that sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes a career-high six times while forcing three turnovers, including two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six.

Trotter Jr. was asked about the totally suffocating defensive effort against Mahomes and the Chiefs that not many people expected or saw coming.

“I feel like the only people that would’ve known is the guys that were on that defensive side,” he said. “We all know the type of players and guys we have in that room, and we know the type of preparation and hard work we put in every single week. We had that mentality coming into the game, we just had to go out there and execute it.”

The Trotters did their postgame interview with the Lombardi Trophy in their possession. So how’d they get hold of the trophy?

“We jacked it. We jacked it, baby,” Trotter Sr. said.

“I took it from somebody,” Trotter Jr. said. “So, just walking around, feeling it, been showing it off.”

“We got it from [Eagles star cornerback] Darius Slay,” Trotter Sr. added. “He loaned it to us for a minute.”

 

–Photo courtesy Kirby Lee-Imagn Images