Jalen Carter Wants a Raise. One All-Pro Teammate Just Made That a Harder Sell.

The easiest way to understand Jalen Carter’s contract situation is to look at what Jeffery Simmons just did. And then look at what Carter hasn’t done yet.

Simmons signed a three-year, $105.8 million extension with the Titans that reset the top of the interior defensive line market. He earned it. Career-high 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 60 quarterback pressures, first-team All-Pro. That was on a bad Titans team in 2025, which might actually make the numbers more impressive.

Carter skipped mandatory minicamp. That’s the signal. He wants a new deal. And the Eagles know they have to pay him eventually. But the question is whether he’s earned the kind of money Simmons just got. Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski doesn’t think so. Not yet.

The math is weird but actually helps the Eagles

Here’s something Kempski pointed out that’s worth chewing on. The cap went up 18% this year. But interior defensive linemen only saw about 11% growth on the high end of the market. That gap matters. It means the Eagles front office can argue the market isn’t quite as inflated as Carter’s camp wants to pretend. It also means they have more cap flexibility than they did a year ago, which is kind of the point of the cap going up that much in the first place.

Carter is insanely talented. Everyone knows that. He wrecked games in 2024. He bullied Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith in the Super Bowl. He draws double teams constantly. But the stat sheet doesn’t scream “highest-paid in the league.” He hasn’t had a double-digit sack season. His impact shows up in the stuff that doesn’t fill a box score.

Here’s where it gets tricky for Carter

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler polled over 70 NFL scouts, coaches and executives about the top interior defensive linemen. Carter made the top 10. So did his teammate Jordan Davis. And here’s the part that has to sting a little for Carter: multiple respondents rated Davis higher based on the 2025 season. One defensive coach told Fowler that Carter has more raw talent, but Davis had a more complete and impactful year.

That’s not nothing. Davis is a monster athlete at 6’6″ and 340 pounds, but he’s not the generational pass-rush prospect Carter was coming out of Georgia. If evaluators are starting to split hairs between the two, it gives the Eagles leverage. They can point to the tape and say, “We have two top-10 guys on the line. We’re not desperate.”

Simmons is the bar now. Carter has to clear it. The talent is there. The tape is there. But the production hasn’t matched the hype yet. The Eagles know it. Carter’s agents know it. The question is whether Carter can make them both forget it by the end of this season.