Darius Slay, Eagles fire back at reporter for Jalen Carter question

The Eagles have already welcomed top draft pick Jalen Carter into Philly with open arms and hope beat reporters do the same.

The Philadelphia Eagles were not happy with one reporter’s line of questioning about ninth overall pick Jalen Carter after the draft and firmly stood by their rookie.

Former Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter saw his draft stock fall slightly due to his misdemeanor charges of reckless driving in connection with a fatal crash last January. He still ended up becoming a top-10 pick in this year’s draft and by the Eagles, no less.

At least one reporter, NBC Sports’ Reuben Frank, was dissatisfied with the way Carter answered questions about the fatal accident and tried to get more answers from the Eagles brass.

Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni listened to only part of Frank’s question before rebutting the idea that Carter didn’t feel “accountable” for his actions.

Eagles defend Jalen Carter’s character against tactless reporting

Sirianni noted that it was difficult on a Zoom call to “feel out a person’s heart and their accountability,” and both Roseman and Sirianni agreed Frank was being too critical of Carter, especially considering this was one of the greatest moments of his life and career so far.

Philly corner Darius Slay retweeted a clip of the interview on Twitter and also clearly sided with his coach and general manager.

There’s definitely heavy, pretentious tones of “Trent Crimm, The Independent” in Frank’s attempts to force a narrative about Carter after the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but the Eagles do good by Carter in defending the young man’s character.

“Character” was what arguably turned the Chicago Bears off on Carter and led to them swap first-round picks to the Eagles, a decision that could haunt Ryan Poles for the rest of his career.

Carter did show up with some health issues to Georgia’s pro day in March, yet one will have to assume Philly did its homework on the star D-lineman, and the team is no doubt excited to roll out a formidable unit with Carter, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and others.

There’s a time and a place for everything. The time for questioning Carter about his “accountability” in a tragic accident was not right after he got drafted by the Eagles on Thursday night, though Carter should be expected to answer those questions in some capacity in the future.