The Eagles have a decision to make at the end of this season, and CBS Sports believes a former first-round pick is going to get paid.
As Jalen Carter goes into the third year of his rookie deal, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman will have a decision to make: do they exercise his fifth-year rookie option, or do they offer him a true contract extension keeping him in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future?
CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin examined Carter's situation and why he will get that big pay day.
"The Eagles are a forward-thinking group, so one reason they shed salary following Super Bowl LIX domination may have been to clear future space for a massive Carter extension. The 2023 first-round pick emerged as the tenacious headliner of their title-winning defensive front down the stretch of Year 2. And he's yet to hit his prime."
Should the Eagles give Carter the biggest contract for a defensive lineman?
Carter is coming off a Pro Bowl season and a second-team All-Pro selection in his sophomore season. The 2023 first-round pick has been a key piece in the Eagles' defensive front, along with several other investments the Eagles have made on the defensive line. Recently, the Eagles exercised the fifth-year option on Jordan Davis, their first-round draft pick in 2022, earning $12.9 million in 2026.
Carter is currently signed through 2026 and has truly emerged as a dominating interior defensive lineman since the end of 2024, during the Eagles' playoff run. With Roseman and the Eagles being a proactive organization, it only makes sense that Carter's team will begin contract negotiations as soon as possible, striking while the "iron is hot".
Carter is set to earn approximately $2.7 million this year; however, CBS Sports believes he could surpass $31.75 million, which is currently the highest AAV entering 2025. For context, Aaron Donald, considered one of the NFL's greatest interior defensive linemen, earned $40,892,000 (including a signing bonus) in 2018 and $31,500,000 in 2022, opting to retire before the final year of his 2022 contract extension.
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If Carter continues to improve, there is no doubt he'll be compensated handsomely come negotiation time. His former teammate, Milton Williams, just signed with the Patriots this past offseason for a four-year, $104,000,000 contract averaging $26 million per year. Considering Carter to be in a tier above Williams, expect Carter to receive a pay raise soon.