Pro Football Rumors
One of the Jets’ long-rumored trade candidates, Michael Carter II is indeed on the move. The team is sending the veteran slot cornerback to the Eagles, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports.
Carter and a 2027 seventh-round pick are going to the Eagles in exchange for a 2027 sixth and wide receiver John Metchie, per Schefter. Philadelphia had acquired Metchie in a summer trade with Houston.
This move will reunite Carter with the GM who extended him last summer. Since-fired Jets front office boss Joe Douglas is back with the Eagles, having been hired this offseason. Douglas hammered out a three-year, $30.75MM extension for Carter just before last season. The Jets came into Wednesday with three eight-figure-per-year CB contracts. That number drops to two (Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens) after this deal, and it gives Carter a second chance after he had fallen out of favor under Aaron Glenn.
Seeking a change of scenery after his Jets standing changed, Carter agreed to rework his contract to facilitate a trade to Philly. He agreed to remove a $5MM injury guarantee for 2026, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds. Carter is now due a nonguaranteed $9.7MM in 2026; his contract runs through 2027.
This will give the Eagles more flexibility, as they are acquiring a slot corner despite rostering Cooper DeJean. Issues finding a boundary complement to Quinyon Mitchell, however, have DeJean playing outside temporarily. That looks set to continue, with the Eagles likely eyeing a Mitchell-DeJean-Carter trio after their Week 9 bye.
Vic Fangio said recently (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) the team has discussed moving DeJean outside. Neither Adoree’ Jackson nor Kelee Ringo has proven a reliable option opposite Mitchell, and the 2024 rookie CB duo may be how the defending Super Bowl champs resolve this matter for the time being. In Carter, the Eagles will be acquiring a proven slot presence — at least, that was the case during Douglas’ GM tenure. The Jets, signing Stephens and extending Gardner at a record rate, had been dangling Carter in deals before the November 4 deadline.
Douglas drafted two Michael Carters in 2021. While the Jets moved on from the running back (now a Cardinal) earlier, they extended the corner — a fifth-round pick — in a deal that pointed D.J. Reed out of New York. But injuries limited Carter in 2024; the 2025 Jets regime change affected his long-term standing with the franchise.
A herniated disk in Carter’s back accompanied an ankle injury last year, and his snap share declined to a career-low 32% during Jeff Ulbrich‘s interim HC stretch. Carter had logged between 64 and 74% of New York’s defensive snaps from 2021-23, solidifying himself as an extension candidate. Missing three games this season, he played 45% of the Jets’ defensive snaps. That stint under Glenn and Steve Wilks did not go well; Pro Football Focus ranks Carter as the NFL’s third-worst CB regular this season. Per Pro-Football-Reference, he has been charged with a whopping 19.5 yards per completion and a 109.7 passer rating...
