The Philadelphia Eagles will need all hands on deck as they prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs after last season’s Super Bowl win. This includes defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who was suspended during last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jalen Carter’s suspension
The incident happened right before the first snap was played last Thursday when Carter spat on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at the start of the kickoff game.
Due to strict league policy regarding sportsmanlike conduct, Carter was ejected from all Week 1 games, including the one against the Cowboys on the same day, as reported by the official NFL website.
"Because Carter was disqualified before participating in a single play, the suspension is considered to have been served in Week 1, and he will forfeit his game check," the league said in a statement on Tuesday. "The NFL Players Association has informed the NFL that Carter will not contest the discipline and has waived his right to appeal."
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“NFL is fining Eagles DT Jalen Carter $57,222 for spitting on Dak Prescott. The league also says the game he was ejected for will serve as a one-game suspension. ‘After talking to the Eagles, the NFL, and the NFLPA, Jalen has decided not to appeal and focus on the Chiefs game,’ said Carter’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus,” ESPN's Adam Schefter further added on his social media handle.
{{/usCountry}}“NFL is fining Eagles DT Jalen Carter $57,222 for spitting on Dak Prescott. The league also says the game he was ejected for will serve as a one-game suspension. ‘After talking to the Eagles, the NFL, and the NFLPA, Jalen has decided not to appeal and focus on the Chiefs game,’ said Carter’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus,” ESPN's Adam Schefter further added on his social media handle.
{{/usCountry}}Eagles coach Nick Sirianni refused to disclose news of any internal discipline in the matter. "I'll always keep those conversations in-house," he said this week, as reported by CBS Sports. "I'll continue to do that, much like if I had a conversation with you and we work together, and you would probably expect me to do the same thing, and that's my job as the head coach. All things like that with any conversations with players, whether it's of something that happens in a game, a moment in the game, there's information that I'll always keep in house."
Will he play against the Eagles?
After the game against Cowboys, Carter told reporters, “You know it was a mistake that happened on my side, and it just won't happen again”, as per the NFL site. He added, "I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there. You know, I'm doing it for them. I'm doing it for my family also but the fans, they show the most love. You heard them out there and not being able to start the game to finish the game just f---- me up, but it won't happen again."
Since the suspension was meant for one game, he’s expected to be playing in the game against the Chiefs on Sunday (September 14).
- With inputs from Stuti Gupta