Jalen Carter Will Not Be Suspended Additional Games

Jalen Carter got off to a less-than-ideal start this season. Before he played a single snap, he ruined his own night by spitting on Dak Prescott. The refs immediately ejected him from the game, and he spent the rest of the night watching his Eagles teammates trying to clean up his mess.

Despite missing a full game, there was concern that the NFL could suspend him for an additional game. Sportsmanship is the league's big push this year. They made it clear that any form of taunting or bad sportsmanship will not be tolerated. So Jalen Carter starting the season by spitting on his opponent certainly ruffled feathers in the league office.

But there will be no additional suspension. According to an Adam Schefter report, week 1 will act as Carter's 1-game suspension, given he never played a snap, and he will receive a hefty fine of $57,222.

Mitigating factors include the fact that Dak Prescott spat in Carter's direction first. He did not spit on Carter, and might have just been spitting and not seen Carter, but the video does show Dak leading Carter on a bit. That said, Carter took the bait and crossed the line.

There was also the matter of precedent. No player had ever been suspended for spitting on another player. The violation had only ever led to in-game ejections and fines.

All of that played in Carter's favor. So he avoided additional time missed. Great news for the Eagles, who badly missed him in week 1. But by ruling that Carter received a 1-game suspension, and the game he missed counts as time served, it sets a precedent for future spitters to be suspended.

Carter's absence led to Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo taking on a large share of the snaps, far larger than they had ever played before. Fatigue never seemed to be an issue. In fact, the defense got stronger later in the game. But they could not afford to go into another week shorthanded.

The question becomes, will the Eagles apply additional discipline? In the past, they have sat players, including Jalen Carter, for a drive or even a quarter for conduct detrimental to the team. They could sit him out to start the game, to make it clear that his behavior is not acceptable, but still play him for most of the game.