Eagles star Jalen Carter made the wrong kind of headlines last Thursday, spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and getting ejected from Philadelphia’s season opener.
Carter, Prescott, teammates, coaches and members of the NFL community commented on the incident that drew backlash (and a hefty fine from the league office).
Now, Jason Kelce has chimed in, calling the All-Pro defensive tackle’s actions “dumb behavior.”
Kelce, the Eagles legend and future Hall of Fame center, was at the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Cowboys. He discussed the Carter incident on this week’s episode of “New Heights.”
“I remember turning to Richard Green, one of the owners of the Eagles, I’m sitting right next to him and I’m like ‘What the heck happened,’” Kelce said. “And he said, ‘He spit on him.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ And then I’m going online on Twitter to find out. He hocks a loogie right on Dak. I think everybody knows that now. And I’m just like, ‘Why the (expletive)? What are we doing?’ I don’t understand why that would happen and it was just a very frustrating moment — not only because he’s one of our best players but it’s just a really awful thing to kind of be out there.
“It’s an awful thing to be part of as a fan base, as an organization, and for that player. He’s a great player, he has had all of these character things or whatever surround him. And then to do this, all of that starts getting brought back up. This sucks on so many levels. He has to be smarter than this. He has to be better than this.
“He has a chance to be one of the best defensive linemen in this era of football. That’s how good this kid can be. That’s how dominant he has been to this point. Don’t let this dumb behavior jeopardize the career, person, and legacy you can build. Especially in this city.”
NBC’s broadcast later revealed that Prescott spit first — but it was on the ground in Carter’s direction, not on the Eagles’ third-year defensive lineman.
“Everybody saw Dak spit afterward, whatever,” Kelce said. “Channel that. … You got four quarters now to have Dak spitting toward you on your mind to take that out on Tyler Booker and that’s the beautiful thing about football. You don’t need to do that back. You got four quarters to do something back to this dude … Now, moving forward we need you to be better than that, Jalen. We have to have you better than that. And you need to be better than that for yourself.”
Fortunately for the Eagles, Carter will play on Sunday against the Chiefs. Carter was fined $57,222. But his ejection six seconds into the game will serve as a one-game suspension, making Carter available for the Super Bowl LIX rematch.
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