‘Genius move’… Philadelphia Eagles praised for exercising fifth-year option on $30m DT Jordan Davis – as former understudy emerges as the true tone-setter of the defensive front - suong
For the last year or so, any and all conversations about who sets the tone on the defensive front for the Philadelphia Eagles have started and ended with defensive tackle
It was Carter who earned NFL All-Pro honors in his second season in 2024. It was Carter who was arguably the best defensive player on a Super Bowl winning team.
It’s Carter who is in line for perhaps the biggest contract for a defensive player in NFL history next year.
Through 3 games in 2025, it’s no longer Carter who looks like The Man up front.
Instead, it’s been defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who showed up in shape and ready to dominate in his fourth season as Carter has struggled with behavior issues and conditioning to start the year.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon singled Davis and his standout play as the most surprising part of the season to this point as the Eagles head into an unbeaten showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
Davis capped the Eagles’ 33-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 by blocking what would have been the game winning field goal and running the ball back 66 yards for a touchdown as time expired.
Davis also finished with 6 tackles and 1 sack.
“And not just for his headline-generating game-clinching play Sunday against the Rams,” Gagnon wrote on September 24. “It wasn’t a given that the defensive tackle’s fifth-year option would be exercised this offseason, but that is now looking like a genius move considering the huge impact Davis has made thus far in a breakout campaign.”
Playing in Carter’s Shadow Last 2 Seasons
Davis and Carter were teammates at the University of Georgia in 2021 when the duo combined to win a College Football Playoff National Championship and Davis won both the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player and the Outland Trophy as then nation’s top interior lineman.
Davis was the Eagles first round pick at No. 13 overall in 2022 only to be upstaged by Philly taking Carter, a projected No. 1 overall pick, at No. 9 overall in the 2023 draft after his role in a fatal car crash and the ensuing scandal damaged his draft stock.
From then on, the headlines have been all Carter — from his perceived laziness as a rookie to his out and out dominance in 2024.
Then, in the 2025 season opener, a moment to top it all.
Davis Steps In When Carter Thrown Out
No one really blinked an eye when the Eagles exercised the fifth year option on Davis’ contract on April 30 to pay him approximately $12.9 million in 2026 and bring his career earnings to approximately $29.9 million.
After the regular season opener, that move was already looking like a steal.
That was when Carter famously spit on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott just 6 seconds into the game — and before the first snap — and Davis stepped up to anchor the defense in a thrilling, 24-20 victory after Carter was ejected.
Through the first 3 games, the 6-foot-6, 336-pound Davis has been a revelation with 16 tackles, 1 sack, 1 blocked kick, 2 TFL and 1 touchdown. He’s already on pace to quickly surpass the 7 tackle, 1.0 sack and 3 TFL he had in 17 starts in 2024.
For the Eagles, that means the next genius move might be signing Davis to a contract extension before the regular season ends.
It also begs the question of what that deal might look like. If Davis’ old teammate and fellow interior defensive lineman Milton Williams received a 4-year, $104 million free agent contract from the New England Patriots this offseason, then what’s Davis worth?
‘It’s going to cost them…’ NFL announces punishment for two Las Vegas Raiders stars after costly mistakes in bruising Week 3 clash… heavy fines revealed in official league report as fans left stunned by what came next… - suong
Two Las Vegas Raiders players, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Devin White, face fines after the NFL announced penalties. It was a tough outing for the Silver and Black in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, and both players made mistakes that proved costly to them financially.
On September 27, the NFL published its weekly Gameday Accountability report. Created in agreement with the NFL Players Association, the report highlights game-related rule violations that may result in accountability measures, aiming to protect players and preserve both competitive balance and the integrity of the game.
Pola-Mao received the larger fine of the two Raiders players. The 26-year-old was fined for unnecessary roughness during a first-quarter play against the Commanders at the 5:01 mark, when he used his helmet. As a result, the NFL has fined Pola-Mao $17,278 for the incident.
As for White, the unnecessary roughness play that he was fined for came in the fourth quarter at the 11:31 mark after he gave a hip drop tackle. Because of this incident, the NFL fined the 27-year-old $6,500.
Raiders Defenders Will Need to Move Forward
Pola-Mao and White will have to put these issues behind them as the Raiders defense need these two playing at the top of their game against the Chicago Bears.
Raiders defensive lineman Thomas Booker IV will be looking to help slow down Williams and the Bears. Furthermore, he explained what the defense needs to do to give the team the best chance to win.
“I think [Williams is] starting to kind of figure it out—when he should stay in the pocket and when he should get out of there,” Booker told reporters on September 24
“In terms of being improvisational and scrambling, he can really make plays on the move. For us, it’s about containing him and creating as many opportunities as possible to keep him in the pocket, so he doesn’t get out and run wild. That’s what we’ll be focusing on this week.”
Bears QB Caleb Williams Has the Raiders Defense on Alert
Booker isn’t the only one aware of what Williams brings against a defense. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll is praising the quarterback as well, noting he’s been following him closely since his USC days.
“I did watch him a lot [at USC] and had a chance to check him out,” Carroll told reporters on September 24. “He’s a very, very special athlete and
“They have a really nice system. You can see it already coming through. [Ben Johnson] is doing a nice job teaching these guys what he believes is important in offense. You can see that there are a lot of changes from last year. Caleb can do whatever you want him to do, so he’s a very dangerous player to play against.”
