Who else would better understand what Jalen Carter is going through than Ndamukong Suh?

It’s hard to find teammates, both present and former, who don’t love Jalen Carter. It’s sometimes hard to find fans who are fully supportive of his on-field actions. By now, we’re all familiar with much, if not most, of Jalen Carter’s story before and since joining the Philadelphia Eagles‘ franchise. It’s 2025, and he’s still on a few ‘most-wanted’ lists.

Had it not been for off-field legal trouble during the 2023 offseason, he may have been selected by the Chicago Bears first overall in the NFL Draft. Instead, he landed with the Eagles at number nine.

Chicago traded their pick to the Carolina Panthers. The latter passed on Carter, too, electing instead to draft quarterback Bryce Young.

No one doubted Carter’s ability. They questioned his character. In terms of his skill set, he has been everything Philadelphia could ask for and more, but every once in a while, his inner bad boy surfaces.

Following Week 15 of the 2024 season, he was fined $11,817 for striking Connor Heyward in the head. On February 1 of this year, he was fined $17,445 for an open-handed slap on center Tyler Biadasz that wasn’t flagged during the most recent NFC Championship Game win.

We’re all familiar with the spitting incident involving Dak Prescott. In Week 3, an unsportsmanlike conduct taunting penalty backed his team up from its own 24-yard line to its own nine. Each misstep has earned him new detractors and has fueled those who questioned his character and decision-making ability, but despite the criticism, some have extended their hand in friendship.

Ndamukong plays the big brother role to Eagles star Jalen Carter.

Ndamukong Suh knows a little bit about being a villain. He was fined a few times during his rookie season. Then, in year two, he, too, lost control on the national stage, pushing guard Evan Dietrich-Smith’s head into the ground three times after the whistle during a Thanksgiving Day game (he also stomped on his arm).

Like Carter, Suh was ejected. One year later, again on Thanksgiving, he kicked Mat Schaub in the groin. We could go on. You get the point. Who else, besides maybe Bill Romanowski, could understand what Jalen Carter is going through? Recently, a member of the 2010s NFL All-Decade Team offered some advice to the young Eagles star during a recent appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast.

“My heart of hearts would have been like ‘Jalen, man, take that one on the chin’. But, then two series later, three series later, you go ahead, clean hit, put that elbow right in his ribs. And then, you know, get up off of him. Push on his chest and be like ‘Are you really sure you want to start this smoke?'”

We can all argue that those aren’t words Carter needs to hear. How about a PG-13 translation? Jalen Carter, save the aggression for the game. Be who you are, but play within the rules. You certainly can’t let the emotion carry past the whistle and cost your team.

How’s that? That’s better. We’ll let Suh take it from here.

(Phrasing things like that is) how you’re being creative about it, but also you’re doing what’s between the white lines and within the rules. So, that’s where you got to teach a young guy like that. You can’t react right away, and you really get it back where it truthfully hurts within the game. Within the rules of the game. Within the white lines and all of these different particular pieces, and I think that’s just maturity… He is so talented and so raw and it’s just a matter of time.”

If Carter can learn to control his emotions, harness them, and play within the rules, we may be talking about a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. Dare we say it? He has the tools to be better than Fletcher Cox, but he has to use wisdom. He’s in the best organization that he can be a part of. We’re betting on him. We believe he’ll eventually put it all together.