Jalen Carter
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Vic Fangio has made it known Jalen Carter needs to get in better shape.
Now in Year 3, Jalen Carter has proven he’s one of the best defensive tackles in all of football, regardless of age or experience.
But just over two weeks into the 2025 season, his All-Pro résumé isn’t a hot topic of conversation. His conditioning — or, rather, his need to improve it — is.
The Philadelphia Eagles DT got himself ejected in the season opener against Dallas after spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. He managed to avoid suspension, and returned Week 2 for Philadelphia’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Heading into Philly’s Week 3 matchup against the L.A. Rams, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke with the media and without provocation, said his blue chip DT needs to be in better shape. Let’s discuss.
Vic Fangio on Jalen Carter: He Knows He Needs to Work on Fitness
Jalen Carter
Mitchell Leff/GettyJalen Carter’s conditioning and fitness level have been called out by DC Vic Fangio.
“He had some good rushes,” Fangio said about Carter’s Week 2 performance. “I think he needs to round into better shape. Both he and I talked about that, and he readily admits that. I think we’ll even get more. But, I thought for everything that has gone on in his world, I thought he played pretty good.”
Fangio wasn’t too hard on the young D-lineman, though.
“There’s a lot of reasons for that,” the Eagles DC said about Carter’s current fitness level. “One, he has had a shoulder issue, which has limited his time on the practice field. The shorter practices that we do, the lack of reps that he’s gotten for multiple reasons, all of that.”
Against Kansas City, Carter finished with two tackles (one for loss) and three QB hits, so he made his presence felt.
Carter Begins Year 3 With High Expectations
Vic Fangio said Jalen Carter still needs to round into better shape — they’ve discussed it and Carter “readily admits” to it. Thought Carter had some good rushes. Carter missed some time in camp with a shoulder injury. pic.twitter.com/H9Hl6ejinP
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) September 16, 2025
Carter entered the league as the No. 9 overall pick in 2023, and he wasted no time showing why he was considered by many to be the best pure talent in that draft. He racked up 6.0 sacks, 33 tackles, two forced fumbles and a scoop-and-score touchdown his rookie year—all while playing less than half the team’s defensive snaps.
An immediate matchup nightmare, he earned PFWA All-Rookie honors and finished second behind Will Anderson in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting that year.
In Year 2, he became a fixture in the middle of Philadelphia’s defense, logging 42 tackles, 16 quarterback hits, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 games. He leveled up in the postseason, adding two more sacks on the way to a Super Bowl win. That stretch landed him his first Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.
A shoulder issue and missed practice time have affected him a bit early this season, but he should have no problem getting up to speed as the season progresses. Carter also hit the proverbial rookie wall in 2023 before later showing he could be a dominant force.
His fellow DT Jordan Davis showed up this year in noticeably better shape, and Carter is likely going to be the one opposing coordinators plan to scheme around. If Carter can grant Fangio’s wish and get that conditioning back to where it needs to be, Philly is going to have quite the formidable duo on the inside.