Jalen Carter picking up where Aaron Donald left off in terms of getting teammates paid in free agency
One of the more interesting parts of Aaron Donald’s lasting legacy with the Los Angeles Rams is how he consistently helped his teammates on the defensive line get paid top dollar on the free agency market. The NFL media has referred to this as the “Aaron Donald effect”, which can be summarized as the star defensive lineman routinely taking on double teams and creating favorable one-on-one opportunities for others to rush the passer.
This list certainly doesn’t capture all the individuals who cashed out after playing next to Donald, but it’s at least a start:
- Dante Fowler, 2020; Atlanta Falcons for three years, $45M
- Samson Ebukam, 2021; San Francisco 49ers for two years, $12M
- Leonard Floyd, 2021; re-signs with Rams for four years, $64M
- Sebastian Joseph-Day, 2022; Los Angeles Chargers for three years, $24M
- Von Miller, 2022; Buffalo Bills for six years, $120M
Jalen Carter is keeping the tradition alive
Rams fans know Philadelphia Eagles interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter well. Carter almost single-handedly finished LA’s playoff campaign last season by quickly pressuring Matthew Stafford on consecutive plays on the would-be game-winning drive. Both pressures came against Rams rookie center Beaux Limmer.
Fans around the NFL will soon know Carter for another reason. That he’s picking up the mantle from Aaron Donald and lifting teammates up to big-time paydays.
Year 2 Jalen Carter is everything we could have hoped for…
An absolute dominant, complete, every-down game-wrecker, who could draw holding called on almost every play – shades of Aaron Donaldpic.twitter.com/rsNequBzjc https://t.co/eG6wnzyacu
— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) January 10, 2025
The Eagles had two defensive linemen leave for greener pastures in free agency this month: Josh Sweat signed with the Arizona Cardinals and Milton Williams is headed to the New England Patriots.
Arizona will pay Sweat $76.4M over four years ($19.1 APY). That isn’t top EDGE rusher money, but Sweat isn’t a player of elite caliber. He’s a decent number two option as a pass rusher. He’s likely not good enough on his own to lead a defensive line, but he can still be a welcomed complimentary piece to a unit that already has a great rusher. He will no longer have the benefit of Carter regularly drawing double teams and will now be the primary focus of opposing offenses when they face the Cardinals.
Williams’ deal with New England is worth $104M over four seasons. He was the prize of free agency, though he’s yet to play more than 500 snaps in a season. That’s not to say that Williams isn’t a disruptive, talented player. He’s just been a role piece from what we’ve seen so far. Williams reached new heights in 2024 and notched 40 pressures on just 302 pass rushes; however, it’s fair to wonder how much of his production is attributable to playing next to Carter.
While Aaron Donald has been out of the NFL for a full season, Jalen Carter seems to be continuing Donald’s tradition of (1) making teammates look better than they probably are, and (2) helping them get paid in free agency. It’s worth keeping an eye on this trend to see if he can carry the mantle for as long as Donald did.
