The Philadelphia Eagles got some tough news regarding star defensive tackle Jalen Carter ahead of their meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Carter has been ruled out of the game against the Chargers after undergoing procedures on both of his shoulders this week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Carter will continue to undergo treatment and is considered to be week-to-week moving forward.
Jalen Carter considered week-to-week after shoulder procedures
Carter’s absence will be a huge blow for Philadelphia in a critical matchup against the Chargers. The Eagles have dropped two straight games and lost playoff positioning in the NFC as a result. They’re still the prohibitive favorite to win the NFC East, but a couple of recent wins by the Dallas Cowboys, including one over the Eagles, has made the division race tighter than it has been all season.
The Eagles have five games remaining and they need to win as many as possible in order to maximize their playoff position in the division, and in the conference. Not having Carter available certainly hurts the cause. On the season Carter has totaled 32 total tackles, 11 QB hits, 4 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Carter had apparently been playing through his shoulder issues, but ultimately they needed to be addressed.
"He does have a shoulder issue," Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week. "He has been playing with it. Late in the game, he had a great play with it, but it's definitely something there."
After the game against the Chargers, the Eagles play the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders (twice) and Buffalo Bills to close out the season. It remains to be seen how many, if any, of those games Carter will be available for.
At the end of the day, Carter being available for the playoffs for the Eagles is the most important thing, but his absence will certainly make the road to the postseason more difficult for Philadelphia.