Jalen Carter might soon join friend Jordan Davis with a contract extension. The Eagles are wagering the duo will continue to ascend — together.

Carter and Davis owe their shared success to a deep bond formed at the University of Georgia. The Eagles have a lot riding on the friends becoming a consistent dual force,

Jalen Carter (left) was present as his friend and teammate Jordan Davis discussed his new contract on Wednesday. Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Jeff McLane

Published March 12, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET

Jalen Carter watched from an auditorium seat as Jordan Davis took to the podium. It wasn’t difficult to imagine an alternative scenario in which the longtime teammates swapped spots, or even sat next to each other on stage.

The two are, in many ways, bound together.

The Eagles selected the former Georgia defensive tackles in the first round of successive drafts, first and foremost, for their freakish abilities. But Carter probably wouldn’t be in Philadelphia if it weren’t for Davis. And Davis, in turn, might not have become the highest-paid nose tackle in NFL history if it weren’t for Carter.

Carter listens to no one as much as he does Davis. His presence at the news conference recognizing Davis’ recent contract extension suggested a maturation of sorts. Davis, the elder Eagle, didn’t ask him to be there.

“Seeing JC, man, brightened up my day,” Davis said on Wednesday at the Jefferson Heath Training Complex. “I wasn’t expecting it. But it just shows the importance of just the connection and the love that we have for each other. JC was there when I was in college. I was there when JC first got on campus, and to be able to continue this and just grow as players together, that’s something special.

“That’s something to be talked about because a lot of players don’t get that luxury in this league.”

Clearly, Davis has Carter’s admiration. It was Davis’ day and Carter sat in the back until questions had been asked and it was time for a handshake and hug. The roles could be reversed sometime soon, and with Carter earning significantly more than the three-year, $78 million deal Davis agreed upon last week.

The Eagles aren’t about to fork over an approximate $70 million average per year to two players — with Carter potentially in the $40-45 million range — if they weren’t supremely gifted or already productive. But most second contracts are based on projections. Neither player has put together consecutive seasons that would warrant bar-setting salaries at their respective positions.

Davis needed four years to begin delivering upon expectations. He got in shape and the game slowed down. Carter hit his stride as a sophomore in 2024, but his third year got off to a notorious start, and shoulder injuries plagued him throughout the season.

The Eagles still managed to field one of the NFL’s best defenses in each of the past two seasons, and for a host of reasons. But having Davis and Carter closer to their best and reaching their ceilings together as the centerpiece of the unit would be many teams’ ideal outcome.

There are still valid questions about Davis’ value as a pass rusher, and Carter’s intemperance. The Eagles’ commitment to Davis and the expected commitment to Carter suggests that one will help the other in the area in which he lacks.

Davis earned his extension, but rarely do run-stopping D-linemen get paid top dollar. If the $12.938 million fifth-year option the Eagles picked up a year ago gets factored into equation, Davis’ $22.7 million average per year isn’t excessive, especially considering the league’s exploding salary cap.

He’s become an anchoring force in the middle vs. the run. He recorded 58 stops in 303 run snaps for the highest rate (19.1) among qualifying defensive linemen last season. The Eagles have had more light boxes than any defense the last two years, and Davis has been central to that deployment.

“Two on me, one free” has long been Davis’ mantra and it’s allowed defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to devote numbers in coverage and have a top five pass defense.

“I know that’s a position that’s overlooked a lot of times from the casual fan,” Davis said. “Not a lot of people know the importance of a true nose tackle, especially when we have the ability in our system to flip from 3-4 to 4-3. Nose guard is a position that doesn’t really get the accolades or get a lot of premium for it because it’s kind of like a muddy position.”

There’s been a marginal leaguewide increase in running the ball, but rushing the quarterback remains the premium task for D-linemen. Davis took a step forward in that aspect last season. His pressure rate jumped from 2.7% in 2024 to 6.2% in 2025, as did his sacks (from 1 to 4½) and QB hits (from 1 to 6).

But his pressure numbers last season were in the bottom 13% among qualifying defensive tackles. And the Eagles validated the numbers by hardly having Davis on the field on obvious passing downs, where he gave way to Carter and Moro Ojomo.

Asked where he hopes to take his pass rush, Davis simply said, “To improve.”

The Eagles are likely counting on it. But they have at least another season with both Carter and Ojomo under contract. Both are eligible for extensions entering their fourth seasons. The Eagles can exercise Carter’s fifth-year option for $27.127 million after April’s draft.

But general manager Howie Roseman will likely want to negotiate a new deal that allows him to create some cap space this year and next, and sets the market for top-line defensive tackles before the next cap increase.

Could talks hit a snag? It’s possible. The Eagles have some leverage after Carter’s 2025 regression. There was, of course, the incident in which he spat on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the opener and was ejected. Shoulder injuries also forced him to undergo procedures and miss four games.

But Carter never looked close to his 2024 self, and the Eagles weren’t attributing his decline merely to shoulder woes.

While it was his involvement in a fatal street racing incident that took Carter off the draft board for some teams in 2023, there had also been complaints from some Georgia coaches about practice and conditioning habits. Once in the NFL, Carter quieted that discussion by playing more snaps than any defensive tackle two years ago. He was dominant in the postseason. He has played through injury and hardly ever wants to come off the field. But some sources within the Eagles believe he hasn’t come close to tapping into his full reserve.

There is also internal concern that Carter might not be best suited to earning a big payday just three years into his career. He’s had a few minor transgressions that have become public, like getting benched for an opening series after missing a meeting two years ago. There have also been reckless penalties and sideline altercations with opposing teams and even Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.

But the Eagles knew what they were signing up for when they moved up a spot to draft Carter with the ninth overall pick in 2023. They believe they have the support system to help the 25-year-old Florida native, and it starts with Davis. There have been some social media rumblings about the Eagles being open to trading Carter, but the only discussions being had internally about him have been about a new deal.

Carter’s appearance for Davis’ big moment was good optics if the franchise is about to make him a cornerstone. He likely knows Davis’ extension makes his own extension more probable. Davis helps keep Carter in line. And Davis knows Carter’s success feeds his own.

“They are keeping you for not what you’ve done,” Davis said, repeating something he said former Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox once told him, “but for what you can do, what you are expected to do.”

Their futures, and that of the Eagles, depend on it.