Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected from Thursday's season opener before playing a snap.
Carter spit in the face of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during an injury timeout after the opening kickoff of Philadelphia's 24-20 win at Lincoln Financial Field and was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.
"You know it was a mistake that happened on my side, and it just won't happen again," Carter told reporters after the game. "I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there. You know, I'm doing it for them. I'm doing it for my family also but the fans, they show the most love. You heard them out there and not being able to start the game to finish the game just f---- me up, but it won't happen again."
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said he would keep any conversations with Carter and potential team punishment in house.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday morning that the NFL will review the spitting incident for possible additional discipline, standard procedure for acts that lead to disqualification. Spitting ordinarily has resulted in fines, not suspension.
"If I get that text or that call and have that conversation, we will handle it," Carter said.
On the opening kickoff of the NFL Kickoff Game, the Cowboys received the ball and Eagles special teams player Ben VanSumeren was injured on the play.
While VanSumeren was being attended to and the Eagles defense and Cowboys offense had gathered on the field, replay showed Carter and Prescott nose to nose before Carter spit on the veteran quarterback. Replay aired later in the game showed Prescott spit on the field toward Carter's direction initially and then smiled at Carter. Carter drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and was ejected.
"I was just looking at him and I was right here in between two linemen," Prescott said, explaining the situation. "I guess I needed to spit, and I wasn't going to spit on my linemen, so I just spit ahead.
"He asked or goes, 'Are you trying to spit on me?' At that point, I felt like he was insulting me. I wouldn't spit on somebody, and I'm damn sure not trying to spit on you, we're trying to play a game and I'm wondering why you're trying to mess with the rookie (Tyler Booker). I step through and say the words, 'Why the hell,' excuse me probably even more colorful but 'why would I spit on you for?' He just spit on me in that moment, and it was more of a surprise than anything. The refs obviously saw it and threw a flag. I was like, 'Hell yeah, we get 15 yards to start the game off,' I didn't realize he was getting ejected. Unfortunate that he did and hell of a player.
"It changed our plan and our blocking scheme. As I told you right before the week, we were going to protect against him. It helped in that manner, but I don't wish for anybody to get out of the game. I'm sure he probably regrets that to some extent. I'm pretty sure he knows, I wasn't trying to spit on him or was even aiming to spit on him. So, it's something that's probably going to get a lot of coverage and a lot of attention that I feel sorry for him, in the sense of, I know how excited each and every one of us are to kick off the season in the season opener and helluva player like that doesn't even get a chance on the first play."
The play set up an opening-drive touchdown march for the Cowboys and also saw the Eagles lose arguably their best defensive player. Though the Eagles prevailed, the Cowboys exploited Carter's absence with two Javonte Williams rushing touchdowns and 119 rushing yards.
Carter, 23, was the ninth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft and is coming off his first Pro Bowl season.
The Cowboys and Eagles next face each other on Nov. 23 at Dallas' AT&T Stadium.
