Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has to game plan for Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter this week, but not because the NFL only handed down a fine for Carter’s spitting incident.
It’s because the league counted Carter’s ejection as a suspension since it happened before what would have been his first play of the Sept. 4 game. Carter spat at Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and got ejected before the play.
The NFL fined Carter $57,222 by taking away his Week 1 paycheck, and the league counted his early ejection as “considered served” instead of a suspension separate from the ejection.
Therefore, the Chiefs get to tangle with Carter for the first time since the Eagles beat Kansas City 44-20 in the Super Bowl. Carter wasn’t a major factor in that game statistically, but the 2024 Pro Bowler could be a factor in the Week 2 rematch. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t tip his cap if Carter will lose any playing time for the upcoming game.
“I’m going to keep everything that I do with him private, regardless of if you see it on Sunday or not,” Sirianni said during Monday’s press conference. “Everything, every conversation, whether it’s a personal conversation, a disciplinary thing, all those things will always be handled privately.”
“I just think that’s the way to go about doing team business, and when you’re doing things with a football team,” he added.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company will need to be prepared either way to take care of business and avoid dropping to 0-2. Mahomes took two sacks in the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 5.
Carter had 4.5 sacks last season and six as a rookie in 2023. The Chiefs could get a hungry Carter on Sunday in what will be his first full game this season, if so.
NFL Sends Message on Future Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Insider
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo highlighted on Tuesday that the league called the disciplinary action toward Carter a suspension, primarily.
The NFL’s statement showed that as such, with “Jalen Carter Suspended One Game” toward the top of the release. Carter ultimately didn’t contest the decision, per the release, as he had only lost the game and the paycheck from the contest where he got ejected.
“And it’s important to note this was announced as a suspension, as it sets a precedent moving forward,” Garafolo pointed out. “If a player spits on another during a game, a suspension will surely be the standard.”
Spitting incidents have occurred in the league before in the last two decades, but all of the ones before Carter resulted in fines only. That included former Eagles and Cowboys star wide receiver Terrell Owens in 2006 and ex-Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters in 2020.
“League rules prohibiting unsportsmanlike conduct are of vital importance to everyone involved in the game,” the NFL’s statement read on Tuesday. “The NFL has been clear with players, clubs, and the NFLPA that it plans to place particular emphasis on sportsmanship this season.”
Jalen Carter Apologetic Afterward
Despite the national spotlight on Carter’s incident and ejection, he didn’t wait beyond the postgame locker room interviews to address his action.
“You know, it was a mistake that happened on my side, and it just won’t happen again,” Carter told the media. “I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there.”
“You heard them out there… it won’t happen again,” he added.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Why NFL’s Jalen Carter Decision is Bad Timing For Chiefs appeared first on Heavy Sports.