Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter on Friday confirmed that he was sidelined for the first series of the Falcons game for disciplinary reasons.
He overslept and was late for a team meeting.
“It was a decision that the coaches made and I respect that decision,” Carter said. “I can’t be late and I take full responsibility for that. It happened and it won’t happen again.”
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The news that Carter was disciplined was initially reported earlier in the week by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Carter, 23, said his phone was unplugged and he missed his alarm. Carter was forced to sit out the first series in the 22-21 loss but still ended up playing 46 snaps to lead the defensive tackles. He said the discipline did not negatively affect his game.
Carter said the coaching staff told him of his punishment “straight up” and he respected the decision.
“I was shocked but I knew I was going to have some consequences,” Carter said. “I knew I was going to have some consequences. Gotta stand up and man up to it.”
Earlier this week, 15-year veteran Brandon Graham was asked about what advice he has given Carter.
“My message always to him, man, always continue to be a professional,” Graham said. “Stuff is going to happen. I know for him, he’s come way farther than when he started. Nobody is beating him down but it’s just like with my kids. I’m going to make sure when they do stuff, let them know, ‘Hey, you gotta get punished for this. As much as it hurt me to do, I gotta do it.’ It’s the same thing. They don’t want to do it but if you do stuff, how else you gonna learn? I know for JC, he took accountability.”
Against the Falcons, Carter didn’t have a very productive game. He had just one assisted tackle and is off to a slow start this season. Through two games, the 2023 first-round pick doesn’t have a sack and has just one quarterback hit.
The Eagles drafted Carter with the No. 9 overall pick last year out of Georgia and they’re relying on him to take a major jump in Year 2. He’s probably the Eagles’ most important defensive player. Carter was on his way to a Rookie of the Year award last season but his play fell off in the second half of the season, along with the rest of the defense.
Through two games in 2024, how would Carter assess his play?
“Me being real with myself ... trash,” Carter said. “I feel like I could be way better. Got a lot of stuff I can work on with hands and being able to read a formation of the O-line, run and pass. Literally, everything.”
One of the reasons the Eagles are relying so much on Carter this season is they no longer have six-time Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox. He retired this offseason and much more of the onus is on Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams on the interior of the Eagles’ defensive line.
So maybe it’s a good thing that Carter is so tough on himself. If he’s playing like “trash” he better fix it.
“That’s just how I talk to myself,” Carter said. “It don’t bring me down. You see. There’s stuff on the media that I see but it don’t bring me down. I keep it real with myself. I’ve been like this since college. I had to transition from being an attack-react to react-attack and all that. That’s how I keep it real with myself. I don’t want to say I’m doing good when I see on film that it’s not up to the standard.”
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