The Philadelphia Eagles took defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter was amazing as a rookie and has been better than most other interior defensive linemen in the NFL since then. That might not include Byron Murphy II of the Seattle Seahawks, though.
The issue for Seattle when it comes to Carter is that the Eagles just gave the player a huge extension that will pay him as much as $160 million over four years, of which $106 million is guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That makes him the highest-paid defensive tackle in the history of the NFL.
At least for a year. As soon as Murphy's agency saw the news about Carter, they might have thought to themselves that they had a starting price for what they would want to ask the Seahawks to pay their client in the future. Carter is a great player. So is Murphy.
Eagles giving Jalen Carter a huge extension should make Seattle Seahawks' Byron Murphy II very happy
Plus, Murphy might be ascending past Carter's level. While the Eagles player was elite for his position in 2023, he hasn't played in the same form since. He's been a disruptor and good, but Murphy's second season in 2025 was better than his rookie year the season before. More importantly, Murphy was better than Carter in 2025 in nearly every way.
Carter missed six games last season due to a shoulder issue. On a per-game basis, he had fewer sacks (.27) than Murphy (.41), and, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Carter was putrid in run defense (he graded 112th out of 134 interior defensive linemen).
The Eagles player is also a terrible tackler, having whiffed on at least 15.4 percent of his attempts in each of the last two years. Compare that to Murphy, who has missed just two tackles total in his two-year career.
None of that is to say that Jalen Carter is a bad player because he is quite good. The problem he has likely caused the Seattle Seahawks is logically agreeing to a contract that will change the financial situation of his immediate family for generations to come. The same will probably happen for Byron Murphy II as well.
The question is whether general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks will make an offer to their own young star that the Eagles did to theirs.
Seattle has a lot of young talent that has either been paid, such as wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (four years and as much as $168.6 million), or will soon be, including Devon Witherspoon. If Murphy inks an extension with Seattle, it might be closer to JSN money than Witherspoon's.
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