Jerry Jones has always said that deadlines spur action. And for most teams, the day before the first training camp practice is the time to complete contract extensions. For some franchise, it can serve as a pseudo deadline, and the Philadelphia Eagles are the latest team to complete a big-ticket deal.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Tuesday that Jalen Carter signed a new deal with the Eagles worth up to $160 million over the next four seasons. The deal has a base value of $152 million, and he was given a whopping $106 million guaranteed. All three of those numbers are record-breakers for the defensive tackle position, and now Carter is set to make at least $38 million per season on his new deal.
That deal is notable for the Cowboys for a variety of reasons. The first is very obvious, as the Eagles are the team in the division that the Cowboys are trying to catch, and this locks in Carter for the foreseeable future. Dallas has been wise to invest in their interior offensive line, and the hope is that players like Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, and Tyler Booker are able to contain Carter over the next handful of seasons.
But there is another reason why this move is of interest for the Cowboys and that is due to their elite defensive tackle, Quinnen Williams. Williams and Carter are two of the very best defensive tackles in the league, but their salaries are very different (right now).
Quinnen Williams' contract is a bargain compared to what the Eagles are paying Jalen Carter
The Cowboys have Williams under contract for the next two seasons, and he is set to make $47.1 million, according to OverTheCap.com. That means the Cowboys have Williams under contract for just $23.5 million per season, which makes him around the 11th highest-paid defensive tackle in the league.
But what is even more stunning is that Williams is set to have just $7.6 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons, while Carter will earn $106 million over the next four years. That is a huge reason why the Cowboys were willing to pay so much for Williams as he had a very favorable contract moving forward.
Eventually, the Cowboys will need to give Williams a new contract, and as usual, they would be smart to get it done sooner rather than later. But given the fact that he is under contact for the next two seasons, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Dallas to move forward with business as usual and consider a franchise tag (which would be roughly $32 million a year), which would keep him under contract through his age-31 season.
There is plenty of time for contract discussions and for how the Cowboys might handle his new contract moving forward. But right now is the time to rejoice as Dallas has one of the league’s best defensive tackles on a very favorable deal.
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