On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles made it official that they had signed two-time Pro Bowl DT Jalen Carter to a multiyear contract extension.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it’s a four-year, $152 million extension for Carter worth up to $160 million, including $106 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.
The 25-year-old Carter is one of the top defensive tackles in football.
Last season, Carter battled injuries, including a shoulder injury, and the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, played in 11 games, where he had 33 tackles and three sacks.
Earlier in the offseason, the Eagles signed Jordan Davis to a three-year, $78 million extension, and now Carter’s deal is done.
“When I think about the timeline with Jalen Carter, we went into the offseason looking to extend him, looking to extend obviously JD [DT Jordan Davis] and kind of keep the strength of our team,” Roseman said. “That position group, not only with those two guys, I mean [DT] Moro [Ojomo], unbelievable player, unbelievable person for our team. BY [DT Byron Young] took a lot of steps, and we’ve got a young group behind that that we’re really excited about. We felt like that was one of the strengths of our team, and we wanted that to be one of the strengths of our team going forward. The defensive tackle position in the league, in college football, it’s a deficient position. It’s hard to find guys like that, and we feel like it was a priority. Where the market was when March opened was kind of in transition. You had guys like Dex [Cincinnati Bengals DT Dexter Lawrence] ready to sign, obviously Simmons [Tennessee Titans DT Jeffery Simmons].
“Some of the reasons that it got to this point were just because we were trying to figure out the market, and from his perspective, he was trying to figure out the market. There hadn’t been a big jump in the market. We like to do contracts in March and April, obviously, get that situated before we go into the draft, before we go into our summer. This was a unique situation. By the same token, getting this done before camp was important for all of us. Good things happen when you get things off your plate, and you’re able to focus on football.”
There were reports out there that the team was reluctant to extend Carter because of some off-the-field concerns. Before entering the league, Carter pled no contest to reckless driving and racing, and he was suspended for a game last season after spitting on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott in the season-opener. Despite those things, Roseman has no concerns about Carter.
“I don’t know what off-field concerns,” Roseman said. “Since Jalen’s been here, he’s put his head down, he’s worked hard, and he’s made huge impact plays for this organization, for this team. Last year, he wasn’t 100%. He tried to fight through that and play through that. We understand that. Like anyone, when you’re 25 years old, you’re still growing as a person and as a player.”
Carter is an amazing talent who can disrupt many things. The Eagles had to pay him, and quite frankly, he’s too good not to pay.
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