The Philadelphia Eagles felt they could weather the storm surrounding Jalen Carter when they chose to trade up for him in a deal with the Chicago Bears. Everybody knows the Georgia defensive tackle was in trouble. He was involved in a tragic vehicular accident that resulted in two deaths. If that weren’t enough, there were rumors of him having maturity and work ethic issues. This was confirmed at his pro day when he showed up nine pounds overweight and failed to complete all the drills. People were shocked the Bears passed on him. They shouldn’t have been.
That decision seems to gain validation with each passing week. Carter is in the news again, and it’s not for anything good. According to Mark Schlabach of ESPN, a survivor of the fatal accident he was involved in has come forward with a lawsuit.
“Victoria Bowles, who survived the fatal car wreck that killed a University of Georgia football player and recruiting staffer on Jan. 15, has filed a lawsuit against the UGA Athletic Association and Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Carter, whom police accused of racing the SUV being driven by a recruiting staffer when it wrecked.
The lawsuit, filed in state court in Gwinnett County on Wednesday by Bowles, a former recruiting analyst for the university, accuses the UGA athletic association of negligence and contradicts public statements by Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart and other officials, who have claimed that recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy shouldn’t have been driving the leased SUV when it left the road and struck trees and utility poles.”
Carter left the scene after the accident, which is never a good sign.
As for LeCroy, he already had four speeding tickets on his record. Bowles claims the school was negligent in letting him drive at all. LeCroy’s blood alcohol level at the time was .197. That is more than twice the legal limit.
Jalen Carter can’t afford another setback.
He’s already on thin ice before even playing a down in the NFL. Nobody denies his natural talent. However, it’s rarely a good sign when people call you the next Albert Haynesworth. Philadelphia is likely hoping this issue will blow over at some point, and they can finally get Carter focused on playing football. They’re putting a lot of faith in their veteran locker room to help control the defensive tackle. Such gambles have worked out before, but they’ve also blown up spectacularly.
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One thing is for sure. The Bears aren’t losing any sleep over their decision. Maybe Jalen Carter will turn into a good player. Still, their thought process was perfectly valid. He had way too many red flags to warrant risking a top 10 pick, especially at such a critical period of their rebuilding efforts. Critics would’ve hammered GM Ryan Poles for making that pick if Carter flopped. Philadelphia could afford the gamble. It’s not looking good early, and this latest development doesn’t help.
