The crafting of a suspension, without a suspension, of Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter got the process to the right place. Carter didn’t play, but got paid, in Week 1. In Week 2, he’ll play but not get paid.
There was one other wrinkle that needed to be addressed, however. A suspension allows the Eagles to void Carter’s remaining guarantees in his first-round rookie deal. Per a source with knowledge of the discussions, the Eagles agreed not to do that.
It doesn’t really matter, given that voiding guarantees is a precursor to cutting the player. The Eagles won’t be cutting Carter (unless, of course, Carter suddenly loses his abilities and/or becomes a general and overall pain in Philly’s butt). He’s in the third year of his contract, and he’s on track to get a new deal after the 2025 season.
The decision not to void Carter’s guarantees doesn’t mean there will be no internal discipline. On Monday, coach Nick Sirianni made it clear that, whatever the team does to Carter for getting ejected before taking a single snap will be kept confidential.
“I’m going to keep everything that I do with him private, regardless of if you see it on Sunday or not,” Sirianni told reporters. “Everything, every conversation, whether it’s a personal conversation, a disciplinary thing, all those things will always be handled privately. I just think that’s the way to go about doing team business and when you’re doing things with a football team.”
Does that mean Carter will be benched for part of Sunday’s game at Kansas City? It could. But Sirianni won’t announce it in advance. And, apparently, he won’t disclose the connection between, for instance, Carter’s actions and Carter missing a series or two after the fact. It will either happen, or it won’t.
And, yes, the Eagles have good reason to punish a player who harmed the team’s interests by making himself unavailable. Even if, in the end, it didn’t keep the Eagles from winning the game.
Actually, if anyone should be upset about the ejection, it’s should be anyone who made a legal wager with an NFL-affiliated sportsbook on the Eagles minus-8.5. Without Carter, the Eagles won the game but didn’t beat the spread. With Carter, the Eagles very well may have covered.