Eagles Sign Jalen Carter to Contract Extension: What Does It Mean?
The Philadelphia Eagles have signed interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter to a record-breaking contract extension. According to multiple reports, Philadelphia signed Carter to a four-year contract extension that is worth up to $160 million and includes $106 million guaranteed. Carter is now the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.
It’s not a coincidence that this deal became official the day before Eagles players will take the field for the first practice of training camp. Carter conveniently sat out during team drills at Philadelphia’s mandatory minicamp earlier in the offseason and it’s safe to say that he should be a full participant moving forward. Both sides were likely hammering out the final details of the deal last month and Carter rightfully didn’t want to jeopardize his money.
Now both the Eagles and Carter can move forward with the 25-year-old All-Pro defensive tackle under contract in Philadelphia until 2031. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman exercised Carter’s fifth-year option earlier this offseason and is now using it as part of the new deal. Therefore, the Eagles essentially have Carter under team control for the next six seasons for a maximum cost of $194 million.
Although knowing Roseman, Philadelphia will likely utilize the maximum number of void years to reduce Carter’s cap hit even more starting in 2028 and beyond. Regardless of how the Eagles structure Carter’s deal, an average annual value of $32.3 million over the six seasons of team control seems like a bargain for the franchise. While that’s not how Carter’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will want the deal to be portrayed publicly, it’s the truth.
Despite Carter’s dominance when he’s at his best, there are still reasons to be concerned about how this deal will age. Carter is coming off a season where he was kicked out of a game due to spitting on a player, battled a shoulder injury all season long and recorded a career-low of just three sacks in 11 games.
Carter has now seen his sack production decline in each of his three seasons in the NFL. He recorded six sacks in 2023, 4.5 sacks in 2024 and three sacks in 2025. Now you have to factor in the shoulder injury that has plagued him in the past and giving a ton of guaranteed money to a player that has shown questionable effort, at times.
It’s clear that the Eagles are betting on Carter to return to the dominant form that we’ve witnessed prior to last season. Yet I believe that it’s also fair to have some level of skepticism about how this record-breaking contract will age. It’s going to be fascinating to see how Carter plays moving forward, especially in comparison to Moro Ojomo, who will now almost certainly be signing elsewhere in 2027.
Carter and Ojomo have posted nearly identical pressure rates since both of them arrived in the NFL as part of the same draft class in 2023. Now I’m not saying that Ojomo is the same level of player as Carter, but there is an argument to be made from a financial standpoint. Ojomo is a few months younger, should be significantly cheaper and has more tread on his figurative tires.
If you’re factoring in a potential trade of Carter to add significantly more draft assets, along with the savings of paying Ojomo instead, that’s something to consider from a team building standpoint. Especially when you have to factor in the potential upcoming paydays for Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr. and others. There’s a lot that goes into all of these decisions.
Clearly, Roseman and the Eagles are pushing their chips all-in on Carter and betting on him returning to his dominant form with Defensive Player of the Year upside. Given Philadelphia’s recent history of success, it’s hard to argue against anything that Roseman and the team decide to do. Yet I believe that there is still room to leave the door open for a little bit of skepticism. Only time will tell how this deal will age for both the Eagles and Carter moving forward.