Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected before playing a down in the NFL season opener Thursday night when he was caught spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Not long after the host Eagles raised their second Super Bowl championship banner, Philadelphia kicked off to the Cowboys and had a special teamer, Ben VanSumeren, go down with an injury on the play.

The Dallas offense and Philadelphia defense walked onto the field while VanSumeren was being attended to. Suddenly, an official tossed a penalty flag and, after a discussion, Carter was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a disqualification.

TV replay footage soon showed Carter having words with Prescott as they stood waiting, followed by Carter spitting at Prescott.

Just before halftime, NBC reported that Carter could face additional discipline, possibly including a suspension.

While not specifically mentioning spitting, the NFL told teams this offseason that respect for opponents will be a bigger emphasis this season. NBC reported that Carter’s actions could fall under this emphasis.

“We just have to play by the rules, respect your opponent, respect your teammates and play the game in between the whistles,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said in a video sent to teams in the offseason.

With Carter out of the picture, the Cowboys had little trouble marching down the field and scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game.

Carter, 24, was a Pro Bowler last season after racking up 4.5 sacks among his 12 tackles for loss, plus six pass deflections and two forced fumbles.

He slid to ninth overall in the NFL draft in 2023 after legal troubles cropped up around the time of the NFL scouting combine. While in college at Georgia, Carter was involved in a street racing crash that took the lives of a player and a staff member. He turned himself in and later pleaded no contest to charges of reckless driving and street racing.

–Field Level Media