The Most Important Eagles Extension Candidate Entering Training Camp

The biggest storyline heading into Eagles training camp involves a premier player at his position (shocker).

With the dust settled on A.J. Brown, Jalen Carter extension talks remain at the forefront of what has been a good offseason for the Eagles front office. The only misstep -- if anyone really wants to call it that -- has been failing to get a deal done with Carter to this point.

This isn't for lack of trying. The Eagles and Carter were in talks for an extension when Jordan Davis landed his three-year, $78 million deal. Carter was in the building for Davis's press conference and it was believed an extension with Carter would be completed soon.

Of course, that never materalized. Carter went through minicamp without a deal, and sat out the team portion of mandatory minicamp while still in negotiations with the Eagles.

How close the Eagles and Carter are to a contract extension is unknown, but deadlines spur action. Training camp starts on July 29, so will the Eagles and Carter get an extension done?

What if both sides don't have a deal done by July 29? Does Carter "hold in" until the extension is complete?

There's a few things to unfold regarding the Carter extension (including his projected salary) as training camp is set to begin.

There is a baromoter in place

Carter and his representation will look to reset the market for defensive tackle this offseason, an amount that went up once Jeffery Simmons reached his extension with the Titans.

Simmons signed a three-year, $105.8 million extension in June, an average annual salaty of $35.27 million. He also has $100 million of that money guaranteed, an amount Carter will certainly strive for in his extension.

Will the Eagles give Carter that much money? Or do they go between the $31.25 million in average annual salaty Chris Jones received and the $35.27 million Simmons is getting.

The Eagles want to see more consistently great play form Carter, not great for 10 plays and good the rest. That may complicate how much they want to pay Carter, but there is an amount he will look for.

The Simmons extension changed the market for defensive tackles. Carter's representation will look to reset it.

How long will Eagles and Carter take to get a deal done?

This is the unknown part of the equation.

The Eagles and Carter could be close in the days leading up to camp and fail to reach a deal. They could sign Carter before camp even starts or try to get him signed before the pads come on (not sheels and shorts).

The unknown is what makes the negotiations even more interesting. Where Carter and the Eagles stand after minicamp is between them, but the indicatior will be if Carter gets a deal before camp.

And if he doesn't, how much he practices. The longer this drags out, the more speculation arises. Both sides woud prefer to get this done as soon as possible.

What is the hold up betwen the Eagles and Carter?

The Eagles want to see more consistent production from Carter going forward before they make him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. Hard to blame them given the season Carter had.

Carter played just 11 games last season, having 41 pressures, 12 QB hits, and 3.0 sacks. There were times he was dominant, but Carter wasn't as good last year as the season before -- when he was that game-changing All-Pro defensive tackle.

The pressure rate was up from 10.4% to 10.8%, but the QB hits, sacks, and pressures were down from Carter's breakout 2024 season. Carter still had seven pass breakups, but didn't have a forced fumble and has tackles for loss decreased from 12 to five.

A shoulder injury also caused Carter to miss games, as he couldn't lift weights for much of the season. That also affected his performance, so the Eagls want to see him healthy.

There are some maturity issues at play too, like last season's spitting incident that got Carter ejected in Week 1. Carter has matured over the years, but the spitting incident with Dak Prescott did put a stain on his progress.

If the Eagles are going to pay Carter life-changing money, they have to make sure Carter is worth that investment. Carter is a premium pllayer, which makes the decision even harder.

Carter may have the leverage here. Hard to let another premier player walk out of the building, the same year the front office did the same with A.J. Brown.

This week will be very interesting.

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