Jason Kelce has urged Jalen Carter to do ‘better’ after spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during the Eagles’ season-opener.
Carter was ejected from Philly’s Week 1 win over Dallas just six seconds into the game following the disgusting act. He has since been handed a $57,222 fine.
Carter will not appeal the decision and is set to be available for the Eagles’ matchup against the Chiefs this weekend.
Ahead of his return to the field, former Eagles star Kelce lamented the ‘awful’ act and called on the defensive lineman to ‘be better’.
Speaking on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce said: ‘It’s just a really awful thing to be a part of as a fanbase, an organization and for that player.
‘He has to be smarter than this. He has a chance to be one of the best defensive linemen in this era of football.
Jason Kelce has urged Jalen Carter to do ‘better’ after spitting on Cowboys star Dak Prescott
Jalen Carter spat at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (left) just six seconds in
‘Don’t let this dumb behavior jeopardize the career and person and legacy that you can build – especially in this city!
‘It’s really unfortunate that happened. It’s really unfortunate that he’s going to have this image now. Now, moving forward, we need you to be better than that, Jalen.
‘We have to have you better than that. And you need to be better than that for yourself’.
While incredible slo-mo footage captured Carter spitting at the Cowboys quarterback, it later emerged that Prescott actually spit in Carter’s direction first.
Video showed that Prescott spat on the ground near the Eagles defensive huddle while Philadelphia fullback Ben VanSumeren, who was later carted off the field, was down having his knee examined after injuring it on the game’s opening kickoff.
Carter apparently took offense at the action, claiming it was ‘hostile’ while his teammate was down on the turf, according to Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
He then decided to spit on Prescott with a referee just nearby, and was quickly tossed from what turned out to be a 24-20 Eagles win.
Revealing his immediate reaction to the incident, Kelce said: ‘I can’t emphasise how crazy this sequence of events was from the box I was in.
Jalen Carter was ejected before his first official snap of the season during the showpiece game
Footage later in the night showed Prescott spitting on the ground before Carter responded
‘You see the opening kick off and then in the span of a minute, there’s a guy in the field, a cart coming out and Jalen Carter just walking off the field. I’m like, what the hell is going on right now?’
‘I remember turning to Richard Green – one of the owners of the Eagles – and I was like ‘What the heck happened?!’ He said he spit on him’.
Prescott, meanwhile, explained after the game that it was commonplace for him to spit on the field.
‘I’ve probably spit a thousand times during the game, I guess I needed to spit so I spit ahead. He (Carter) said, ‘Are you trying to spit on me?’ At that point I felt he was insulting me, I wouldn’t try and spit on anyone.
‘He just spit on me in that moment. It was more of a surprise, refs saw it and threw the flag, I thought ‘hell yeah we’ll get 15 yards to start the game’. I didn’t realize he was going to get ejected, he is a hell of a player. It changed our gameplan.
‘Unfortunate circumstances, it’s probably going to get a lot of coverage and attention.
Carter has blossomed into one of the league’s top defensive linemen since the Eagles selected him No. 9 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He made the Pro Bowl last year and played a significant role in the Eagles lifting the Super Bowl over the Chiefs.
