What Jalen Carter's Extension Means for Rams and Kobie Turner

As the Los Angeles Rams enter the middle of the 2026 offseason, the pending contract decisions of Kobie Turner, Puka Nacua, and others will be a primary focal point. While Nacua's contract situation is a little murky due to his off-field issues, the Rams will be looking to figure something out with Turner, given his overall importance to the defense.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles and defensive tackle Jalen Carter agreed to a four-year, $152 million contract extension with $106 million guaranteed. It makes Carter the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. Carter’s new contract averages $38 million per season.

Breaking: Eagles are signing two-time Pro-Bowl selection Jalen Carter to a four-year, $152 million extension worth up to $160 million, including $106 million guaranteed that now makes him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history, per his agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus.… pic.twitter.com/R8VZfbsKTy
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2026

It’s hard to see the Rams paying Turner close to $40 million per season. With that said, Carter’s market-setting contract will certainly raise Turner’s price. Carter and Turner both entered the NFL in 2023. While Carter was drafted in the first round, the Rams drafted Turner in round three.

Despite Turner being just as, if not more, productive than Carter, he hasn’t gotten near the amount of accolades. Carter is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and earned Second-team All-Pro in 2024. Turner made the PFWA All-Rookie Team, but has yet to be named to a Pro Bowl.

	Kobie Turner	Jalen Carter
Pressures/Game	3.18	3.48
Sacks/Season	9.17	5.5
Stops/Game	2	1.29
Forced Fumbles	1 + 1 INT	4
Run Stop Rate	8.9%	5.4%

* Note: Stats including postseason via PFF and Pro Football Reference

Spotrac currently has Turner’s market value set at four years, $129.75 million, which is $32.4 million per year. Earlier this offseason, the Tennessee Titans signed Jeffrey Simmons to a deal averaging $35.28 million. With Carter resetting the defensive tackle market, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Turner get close to Simmons’ number.

Still, Turner’s contract will be interesting. While he has the production of players like Carter and Simmons, he doesn’t have the recognition. That stuff does matter during contract negotiations. Throughout his entire career, Turner has been overlooked by the NFL. This past offseason, Turner wasn’t ranked among the top-13 defensive linemen in ESPN’s poll of NFL coaches and executives. Turner was only among those receiving votes.

If Turner were to earn his market value and get close to Carter, he would be the third-highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL. Given that the Rams may need to prioritize Nacua, Warren McClendon, Kevin Dotson, and potentially Steve Avila as well, they may not want to pay Turner over $30 million per year. It’s not necessarily a matter of want, but a matter of whether they could even afford it.

Over the next year, the Rams are going to have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to the contract extensions they hand out. Carter raising the defensive tackle market only complicates things for the Rams and Turner.

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