Roseman on Carter: 'It's been a traumatic process'

[time2rock]

Roseman on Carter: 'It's been a traumatic process'

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

Jalen Carter wasn’t supposed to be there. He just may be the best player in the draft, and the Eagles were holding their breath as the 10th pick approached.

So after a quick trade up with the Bears from 10 to 9, they pounced and landed the gifted interior defensive lineman from Georgia.

Later Thursday evening, Howie Roseman addressed Carter’s slide and said it was related to the incident in Athens in January in which one of his teammates and a Georgia football staffer were killed while drag racing Carter, who was in a separate car.

"These are people that he was close with,” Roseman said. "Obviously, it's been a traumatic process for him throughout the spring. We understand that there's a reason that he was available at 9.”

And Roseman said several times it’s just as important to provide support for Carter off the field as guide him on the field.

"I think everyone will tell you this is one of the most talented players in the draft,” he said. "This is one of the most talented players to come out of college football in a long time. Obviously, that's part of what we're talking about. We've got to develop the people. We've got to develop the player.

"I think for us, we take that part seriously. We think that it's important that not only are we caring about people as players, but we want to care about the people. We're going to wrap our arms around him and do the best we can to help him and understand — that was a tragic night. It was a tragic night, and we're sorry for the loss to those families, and we're not trying to downplay that situation, but obviously we've got to get to work.”

Carter, 22, was asked Thursday night about the incident, what he learned from it and how he handled questions from NFL teams about it during the pre-draft process.

"It’s really been smooth,” he said. "A lot of teams really on my visits really didn’t bring up the accident. It was more just to get to know me and know my personality and know what type of guy I am in the locker room and off the field.”

There’s so much at stake when NFL teams draft players — especially this high — that they spend as much time if not more researching a player's character as his skill before the draft, and Roseman said that was the case with Carter.

Roseman said Dom DiSandro, the Eagles’ senior adviser to the general manager and chief security officer, did a lot of that work regarding Carter, who was charged with reckless driving by authorities in Athens.

"We spent a lot of time investigating the incident around it,” he said. "We talked to Jalen about a variety of things, and again, we're not going to get into what we talk to our players about. That's not fair. …

"But at the end of the day, nobody is hiding from the fact that a tragic event happened, and we'll do our very best to make sure that both these players (Carter and Nolan Smith) develop every skill set they need to be successful.

"We understand that all these players, they need to be developed. They're coming into the league at a very young age. They're not finished products. I think all of us when we were 21 and 22 … hopefully have grown a lot from that time, and you just really want to get to know the person and what's in their heart. 

"I think when we got to know Jalen, we just felt like here's a kid that he does love football. Obviously, he's a winner. He won in high school, he won in college. 

"We feel like we have really good people in this building. We have really good support staff. We have really good players who are good people. We have really good coaches. We felt like it was a good fit for us.”

Carter raised a lot of eyebrows at Georgia’s pro day when he appeared out of shape and didn’t participate in all the drills.

"It was just me,” he said Thursday. "I felt conditioned, but I guess I wasn’t. That was just me. I should have conditioned a little more — a lot more — before my pro day.”

That certainly could have been a red flag for NFL teams and part of the reason he dropped to No. 9.

"He didn't have the spring that he wanted to have, I mean, obviously starting with that event (in Athens in January),” Roseman said. "I think the event and the issues surrounding it, I think they derailed him this spring. 

"The first thing he said to us (Thursday) was, ‘You tell me what I need to do.’ I think he's a proud guy, and he wants to show people what kind of player he is and what kind of person he is. But he's got to do that with his actions.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/howie-roseman-eagles-draft-pick-jalen-carter-its-been-traumatic-process

[UK_EaglesFan89]

The key is going to be how he now looks to deal with what happened and any issues that may bring with it. If he has the right support around him then he should be able to deal with it (as best as possible).

[PoconoDon]

He is on the right team when it comes to support for his growth and development on and off he field.