We made it.

After months of roster building and speculation, Eagles football is well and truly on the horizon with the first practice of training camp set for Wednesday morning. And on that horizon, it shouldn’t be forgotten just how much is at stake this season; the Eagles have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL and at least some reason for optimism that they can continue the trend of following up a Super-Bowl hungover season with a deep postseason run the next year.

As we eagerly await the start of this season’s journey, here are five thoughts on Jalen Carter signing a contract extension and the biggest position battles that will play out over the next handful of weeks.

Eagles make Carter the NFL’s highest-paid DT

On training camp eve, the Eagles made Carter the richest defensive tackle in the NFL with a four-year contract extension reportedly worth $152 million with another $8 million in incentives and $106 million in guarantees according to ESPN.

Since Carter had both this upcoming season and the fifth-year option in 2027 left on his rookie deal, his contract is now essentially a six-year contract that will give the Eagles some flexibility in how they handle that new money. My guess is the cap hits will be friendlier than the initial shock value may have suggested as a result, even with Carter surpassing the $100-million guaranteed mark the Tennessee Titans gave Jeffery Simmons earlier this month.

This extension materialized a few months later than the Eagles typically need to secure blue-chip, homegrown talent. The organization rightly prioritizes signing players like DeVonta Smith, Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson and plenty of others to these types of extensions early in the offseason before the market rises and the price goes up, but the complicating factors on projecting Carter moving forward made this one more of a slow burn. My understanding was that the guaranteed money was a sticking point for both sides during the spring, but the deadline of training camp looming large likely served as a motivating factor for the Eagles and Carter’s camp.

That shouldn’t overshadow what’s undeniable, though. The best version of Carter is one of the most dominant players in the NFL and his upside is as high as any pass rusher not named Myles Garrett in the NFL. He reported for training camp in good shape and is now poised to play without a potential contract dispute looming over him in the short term, and the Eagles can feel good about having arguably the best defensive tackle tandems in the league secured for the long-term.

A word on Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean …

One of the initial reactions to the Carter extension was wondering what the ripple effects of doling out that much money might have on Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean’s prospects of signing similar extensions next offseason.

Mitchell in particular will likely be due a massive payday. Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward signed a two-year, $62.2 million contract on Tuesday, setting a new benchmark for the likes of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez to negotiate for even larger deals in the coming weeks or months. By the time Mitchell is extension eligible, it’s not crazy to imagine he’ll be asking for an average annual value at least within shouting distance of what Carter just signed for in new money.

But that potential extension with the Eagles, or DeJean’s, for that matter, should be materially affected by Carter signing this deal. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman isn’t often in the business of letting homegrown players playing at an elite level at premium positions even sniff free agency. Carter, DeJean, Mitchell, and Jordan Davis are going to be the foundational pieces, and the supporting cast will have to get cheaper around them. And, more importantly, the Eagles are going to have to make the right bets on offense to balance the scales with a young, cheap nucleus on rookie deals, starting with Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers this summer.

A word on Moro Ojomo …

What Carter’s deal does materially affect is Moro Ojomo’s long-term outlook with the team. Paying Carter $152 million in new money over a four-year period alongside Davis at $26 million per year makes Ojomo hitting the market next offseason an eventuality.

The Eagles will likely get a 2028 third-round compensatory pick for Ojomo if he signs a deal similar to Milton Williams in free agency next offseason. And just for the sake of thorough evaluation here given we’re talking about Howie Roseman: That’s an important factor to keep in mind in any possible trade speculation.

Would any team offer significantly greater value to the Eagles to get Ojomo before he hits the market? If not, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles wouldn’t prefer to have this trio intact for another season for any price another team would reasonably be worth paying.

Player I’ll be watching on Day 1, offense edition: Makai Lemon

Makai Lemon seems to be ready for camp after being sidelined with a hamstring injury during spring workouts, setting up a pivotal few weeks for the first-round rookie to acclimate to Mannion’s system and build a rapport with Jalen Hurts. He’s the type of player who should look good in training camp, so there’s reason for cautious optimism there.

The Eagles need him to look good, too. Of the options at receiver around him, there isn’t one that projects as cleanly into the No. 2 role behind Smith as a featured member of the passing game and possibly the third-highest target getter behind Dallas Goedert.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has been bullish on Dontayvion Wicks since the team traded for the 25-year-old, but projecting him into the No. 2 receiver spot is, well, a projection. Smith was second on the team with 113 targets last year and Goedert had the third-highest total at 82. Wicks’ most prolific season was two years ago, when he had 76 targets, 39 catches, and 415 receiving yards. Even more staggering, Wicks’ catch rate that year was just 51.3% compared to Smith’s 68.1% and Goedert’s 73.2%. Wicks caught 65.2% of his 46 targets last season, though, and the Eagles will be banking on that upward trend continuing.

Hollywood Brown’s career history has more evidence of him being capable of handling heavy usage, although his numbers have been trending down some in recent years. He’s had triple-digit targets in four consecutive seasons between 2020-2023, but would probably be better suited as a horizontal/vertical stretch role player for this receiving corps rather than a true mainstay at the top of the depth chart. For that reason, it’ll likely come down mostly to whether Lemon can hit the ground running this summer.

Player I’ll be watching, defense edition: Marcus Epps

I’d give Marcus Epps about a 50% chance of winning the starting job before the action gets started. I’d give Michael Carter about 25%, which leaves another 25% for “the field” of candidates, primarily those on the trade market. We’ve discussed Grant Delpit as a potential trade target on the show throughout the summer, but Epps will get the first chance to end this position battle before it starts.

My guess? There will be a few surprises on the starting safety permutations between now and Week 1. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been somewhat unpredictable with personnel decisions in the summer each of the last two training camps, and has a tendency to rotate safeties and linebackers in particular during specific practices. It wouldn’t shock me to see him mix things up there this summer.