Eagles Giving Jalen Carter New Deal Could Cause Team to Lose Fan Favorite

The Philadelphia Eagles' decision to give Jalen Carter a four-year deal was certainly the right one, though Philadelphia now has to make some decisions on other players it wants to pay. 

As we look at some of the other moves the Eagles have made over the past few months, the decision to bring in a guy like Jonathan Greenard could impact some other players as well.

Howie Roseman has typically done a good job of paying the right players. He had to move on from a guy like Jalen Phillips this offseason, an unfortunate situation for all involved, but it was simply due to not having enough money and wanting to spend it on other players. A guy like Nakobe Dean also left, so we should expect to see some others leave in the future as well.

From the sound of things, that could impact Nolan Smith. Smith, one of the better young defenders on this Eagles defense, will have to outplay others if he wants to be the one who gets paid.

“While pass rusher is different than defensive tackle, Carter's extension does affect Smith. The Eagles are paying Carter $38 million a year, Davis $26 million, and Jonathan Greenard $24.5 million. All this occurred in one offseason. The Eagles can only afford one more player on that defensive line real money, meaning over $10 million a year. Based on who's up for an extension, either Jalyx Hunt or Nolan Smith will get that extension.

“This may come down to which player is cheaper or which player has the better year. If Hunt has a year like he did last season -- especially with Greenard in the fold -- he may be in line to get the extension first,” Jeff Kerr wrote.

The unfortunate reality of the NFL, especially when you build a team as well as Roseman has, is that it's impossible to pay everybody. I don't love that the NFL is like that; some other sports aren't, mainly Major League Baseball, but it's the reality of what the league is. 

The Eagles will ultimately have to decide which route they want to go, but I think they'll make the right decision, no matter what. Roseman continues to show us that, and I fully expect him to do what's needed.