1 move Eagles must make to keep up with Rams after Myles Garrett trade

When news broke that the Cleveland Browns were finally willing to have conversations on moving two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, it made sense that the Philadelphia Eagles were one of the teams mentioned as a suitor.

A Super Bowl Champion just over one year prior, with a nucleus in place to remain competitive for years to come, even without Pro Bowl wide receiver AJ Brown, the Birds had a lot going for them in the pursuit of Garrett. With an additional first-round pick in their back pocket, albeit one acquired a few hours after Garrett landed in Los Angeles as the newest member of the Rams, Roseman could have used his considerable cache of picks and young players to make a strong push for a certified game wrecker, one who is somehow only 30 despite having played nine seasons in the league.

Well, according to SI’s Jeff Kerr, that’s exactly what they did, offering up a selection of picks plus a young edge rusher, either Nolan Smith or Jalyx Hunt, for Garrett’s services. The problem? The Browns wanted a different player, one who Howie Roseman clearly wanted to pair with Garrett, instead of have replace him on the books.

“The Los Angeles Rams ended up being the team that landed Garrett, parting ways with the premium player the Eagles were reluctant to part with. The Eagles offered either Nolan Smith or Jalyx Hunt, but neither compared to Jared Verse — who the Rams were reluctant to part ways with in order to get a deal done,” Kerr wrote.

“The Rams knew they had to trade Verse in order to net Garrett. The Eagles had a premium player like Verse that was initially discussed in trade conversations, but they balked. That player? Jalen Carter. Having Carter as the centerpiece in a Garrett trade was too rich for the Eagles’ blood. The Eagles were reluctant to part ways with a premium player that is critical for their future, even if they could have landed Garrett — a player they coveted.”

Now granted, was this the correct call for the Eagles to make? Yes. Assuming they aren’t planning to trade Carter, which would be a wild reversal at this point, it’s clear Roseman views the young Bulldog as the centerpiece of his very Georgia-themed defense, even if he doesn’t have a long-term extension to show for it just yet. As a result, after striking out on Garrett, the Eagles would affirm their commitment to Carter being a cornerstone player and pay him like one, handing the 25-year-old 3-tech the kind of contract that locks him up for the remainder of his 20s.

Jalen Carter will only get more expensive for the Eagles after 2026

On paper, the Eagles really have no need to sign Carter to an extension right now. They just picked up his fifth-year option, 2026 will only be his fourth NFL season, and if something catastrophic happens on or off the field this fall, they could theoretically move off of the young defensive tackle without having to navigate an AJ Brown-level cap mess that gets strung out for months.

Would it be unfortunate to see Carter succumb to such a fate and have it permanently alter what looks like an all-time great career for a young Eagles defensive tackle? Most certainly, and after watching Garrett’s own former team, the Browns, suffer through a cap situation of their own where Deshaun Watson’s massive number severely impacted their ability to put a contender on the field, it makes sense that Roseman may want to wait and see how Carter plays in Year 4, but what if he’s really good?

What if Carter plays so well, plays himself into a new tax bracket previously unimaginable?

As things presently stand, Carter is almost certainly going to become the second homegrown defensive tackle Roseman hands a $100 million contract to. Fletcher Cox absolutely deserved that number for his play with the Birds, and Carter has played to a similar level, if not even a little bit better at times. And yet, from a production standpoint, Carter, like Cox, has never had more than six sacks in a season and has watched that number decrease with each passing season. What if Carter is able to put it all together, wreck offenses as an (almost) always double-teamed interior force, and hit double-digit sacks with career-best marks in tackles, tackles for losses, pressures, and QB hits too?

Well, Carter’s AAV could go from beginning with a three to maybe even a four, joining Garrett and a select few other players making QB money on the defensive line.

When it comes to the fans, the coaches, and his peers, Carter’s dominance is clear. Sure, occasionally a Cowboys fan will note that Carter had fewer sacks in his career than their former star Micah Parsons had in a single season, and they aren’t wrong. When hitting the negotiation table, Roseman will certainly bring this up, along with Carter’s suspension for spitting and his recent injury issues, as a reason why the Eagles should either pay a little less for his services or should be able to put some sort of contingency in the contract in case things go south, be that less guaranteed money or some sort of clause. But if Carter is hitting All-Pro, DPOTY numbers, then his next contract could reset the market for his position heading into the 2027 calendar year.

Case in point, Zack Baun, the Eagles’ middle linebacker who began his run with the team as a depth signing on the edge with special teams experience. Baun played so well on a prove-it deal that he ended up signing a new three-year, $51 million contract, which made him one of the highest-paid inside linebackers in the sport. Now granted, Baun matched that level of play in 2025 and proved that he is worth the fee his agents negotiated, but if the Eagles offered him a long-term deal in-season, they might have been able to save enough money to sign the next Baun, who, in turn, could earn the next long-term deal.

Simply put, if the Eagles are worried about Carter on and off the field, risking a bigger contract in 2027 might be worth the savings they could secure in 2026. However, with Smith, Hunt, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and more all a year or two away from new contracts, if Carter is the guy moving forward, which he clearly appears to be on the outside, why not lock him up and prove why he wasn’t included in the Garrett deal definitively?

The post 1 move Eagles must make to keep up with Rams after Myles Garrett trade appeared first on ClutchPoints.