Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter didn't start against the Atlanta Falcons because he was late to a team event, per NBC Sports. Carter was left on the bench as a disciplinary move by the team in Week 2.
That's certainly a disappointment to the Eagles and their defense, who rely on Carter to play a lot of snaps. Philadelphia lost to the Falcons in that game, 22-21.
Carter has four total tackles on the season for the Eagles. He missed the team's first defensive series due to being late for the event. The specific event that Carter missed wasn't disclosed by NBC Sports. Clearly, the Eagles and their coaches felt that Carter didn't give a good-enough excuse for his tardiness.
The Eagles look for big production from Jalen Carter
Carter had an outstanding rookie season with the team in 2023. The defensive tackle posted 33 tackles and six sacks. Carter is a former first-round draft pick for the Eagles. He was selected ninth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, after he played at Georgia. He won two national championships with the Bulldogs.
The defensive tackle continued to find success after he entered the league. Carter was named to the PFWAA All-Rookie Team in 2023. He forced two fumbles in the 2023 campaign, to go with his impressive tackles and sacks numbers. Carter recovered one of those fumbles. He adds a lot of physical toughness to the play of the defensive line, and is a vocal leader despite his young age.
Carter quickly found his role in the Falcons game, despite missing the start. The defensive tackle was used in the team's second defensive series. He went on to play 46 of his team's defensive snaps in the game, per NBC Sports. That was out of a total of 56 snaps. Carter is clearly needed in this unit, trying to find its way back to the postseason.
The Eagles sustained some losses on defense this season. Linebacker Haason Reddick is now with the New York Jets, and Fletcher Cox retired. Due to those developments, Carter will have to step up his production this season. So far, it's not working out quite the way the team wanted.
Philadelphia next plays the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Eagles fans hope that this disciplinary action never happens again for their star defensive tackle. Philadelphia is 1-1 on the season heading into Week 3.