Nick Sirianni’s press conference delivered its biggest headline when the Philadelphia Eagles head coach was asked about Jalen Carter’s absence from team drills. Sirianni stuttered, visibly working through what he should and shouldn’t say, before landing on a non-answer. He didn’t want to comment. He talked around it. And that told us everything we needed to know.

If this were about the shoulder, if the injury from last season were still lingering, Sirianni would have just said it. He would have given us the standard update. Instead, he offered the classic “he’s working hard to get back on the field” while Carter has been spotted jogging around on the side. This is contract-related. Simple as that.

Jordan Davis got paid, now it’s Carter’s turn

We already saw defensive tackle Jordan Davis get his extension earlier this offseason. Now his counterpart, the more dominant player of the two, wants his. And the question everybody should be asking is whether Jalen Carter should reset the interior defensive lineman market entirely.

Look at the numbers from Carter’s first three seasons. Six sacks as a rookie, 4.5 in Year 2, three last season. Those totals alone don’t capture what he does. Carter generates constant pressure, draws double teams on a regular basis, and changes the way offenses have to scheme against Philadelphia’s front. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler at 24 years old. We all remember what he did in that second season, both in the regular season and the playoffs. He was one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. That performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the postseason was the stuff you build a franchise around.

Last season, he played only 11 games while dealing with a shoulder injury, and his career has featured some ups and downs with conditioning and availability. We’ve heard defensive coordinator Vic Fangio talk multiple times about Carter needing to get in elite shape. So the tape says dominant, but the durability concerns give the front office pause when it comes to writing the check.

The market sets the floor

If we look at the current landscape for interior defensive lineman contracts, Chris Jones sits at the top with $31.7 million per year in average annual value. Dexter Lawrence, who was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, landed $28 million per year. Milton Williams got $26 million last season, and Davis just signed for $26 million this year.

Per Spotrac, Carter’s projected market value sits at $26.9 million per year on a four-year deal worth roughly $107.6 million. Is that enough? I don’t think so. Carter’s camp is almost certainly pushing back and arguing he should be in the $30 million range based on the upside he’s already flashed. Maybe they’re not demanding Chris Jones money at $31.7 million or higher, but $30 million feels like the floor for a player this talented and this young.

On the other side of the table, general manager Howie Roseman is doing what Howie always does. He’s negotiating every single dollar. He’s looking at the rest of the defensive roster, the guys he still needs to pay, and trying to keep the championship window open as long as possible. The Eagles are going to pay Jalen Carter. That much is obvious. We heard just last week that Philadelphia won’t trade Carter, not even in a deal involving Myles Garrett. That tells you how much they value him. But valuing a player and agreeing on the exact number are two very different things, and that gap is why Carter is jogging on the sideline instead of participating in team drills.

Get this done, Philadelphia

I don’t think Carter should reset the market above Chris Jones right now, but he should come close. Something in the $29 million to $30 million range feels like where this lands, and both sides probably know it. The details are what they’re haggling over: guarantees, structure, incentives. That’s the Howie Roseman specialty.

But the Eagles need to get this figured out quickly. Every day Carter spends away from team drills is a day he’s not getting reps, not building chemistry with the defensive line rotation, and not working himself into the kind of shape Fangio has demanded. Carter needs to be healthy for all 17 games this season, and he needs to have a dominant 2026 campaign. The talent has never been in question. The availability has.