Eagles Aren't Shying Away From Jalen Carter's Upside

You might ask how all of that affects the Eagles, past the obvious elevation of the Packers to legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. The answer to that is emerging superstar Jalen Carter, who is set to enter his third NFL season on Thursday night against the Cowboys.

If everything goes to plan for the Eagles and Carter ascends even further from the second-team All-Pro status he earned last year, things are going to get every expensive.

Add on a significant run at a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy, and the Georgia product entering the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation, and it's not inconceivable that Carter's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will try to push his client past Parsons when extension talks are permitted after this season.

That's how contracts in the NFL work.

The Eagles, of course, are already preparing for that possibility. and there is no sticker shock at the NovaCare Complex.

That's what this "maintenance offseason" was about, a long-term look, understanding what's coming with Carter and potentially Nolan Smith next offseason, plus Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean after the 2026 campaign.

"We have a sense in the short term," Eagles assistant general manager Alec Halaby said when asked how a second contract for Carter might look. "... But also, our job is to have a sense of what the long-term outcomes might look like, and what the landscape looks like − not just in March of 2025, but in September of 2026 and ’27 and beyond that. That’s something we do think a lot about, that sort of multiyear planning aspect.

"And following the markets and understanding what the landscape is."

The landscape already changed with Parsons' new deal with the idea of a rising tide lifting all boats.

Even if Carter doesn't reach a Parsons level because the top edge rushers in the NFL still tend to get more than their interior counterparts, Parsons' new deal with elevate all the top defensive front players to a certain extent.

At 24, Carter is already one of the more dominant defenders in the league and he's just touched the surface of what he can be a s a player.

"The good news about Jalen is two-fold," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said earlier this year. "One, he played very well for us last year, and two, he can still improve a lot."

The Eagles, meanwhile, are not shying away from what they want Carter to become, even if they're aware of the price tag that will accompany that outcome.

"Jalen’s shown how dominating he can be as a player," GM Howie Roseman said. "When you have that guy and when offensive linemen are sliding to that guy, it creates opportunities for the guys playing next to him. You have to account for him. If you're going to block him one-on-one, he's got a great chance to win those matchups.

"I mean, he's that kind of player, and he's a special player."