Somewhere, Jalen Carter and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, are smiling right now.
I’m guessing they’re not actually together in person but that much is besides the point.
The two have reason to be happy after seeing that Jeffery Simmons and the Tennessee Titans agreed to a three-year contract extension that’s reportedly worth $105.8 million with $100 million guaranteed.
Simmons’ new money comes out to $35.3 million per year, which is well above previous defensive tackle leader Chris Jones’ $31.75 million annual
value. If you add in the next two seasons before the new extension kicks in, Simmons is averaging a shade under $30 million per year.
This development gives Carter and the Eagles some more framework for a long-term extension. Carter is not quite yet as accomplished as Simmons but he is obviously younger and is still considered to have big-time upside. And the market rate is only ever going up, not down.
The Eagles are said to be “hesitant” to pay Carter and that much is reflected by how they’ve yet to sign him to a multi-year deal. The team usually efforts to preempt the market by paying their young players early. Carter became extension eligible earlier this year but there’s currently no indication that a new deal is imminent.
It doesn’t mean that something won’t get done; there’s still over a month until training camp begins and even longer until the regular season starts in September. In the event that Carter enters the 2026 campaign without a new contract, it’s not like it would be unprecedented. Jordan Davis played out the fourth year of his rookie contract in 2025 before the Eagles extended the fellow Georgia alumnus earlier this year. The Eagles wanted to see more from Davis before financially committing to him. Carter might be in the same boat.
Of course, Carter has more leverage than Davis did in terms of being a more integral player to the Eagles’ overall success. Carter didn’t participate in team drills during the spring but it remains to be seen if he’ll actually stage a “hold in” or not.
In any case, this Simmons extension might help Carter and the Eagles eventually reach a logical financial number that works for both sides.
