One day after the Bears visited Georgia’s pro day en masse, Bears general manager Ryan Poles said the team plans to bring Bulldogs defensive tackle Jalen Carter to Halas Hall for an official visit in the next month.
“We’ll bring him [in], talk to him and get to know him even better,” Poles said Thursday at Halas Hall. “[At] some point in mid-April, we’ll sit down and see how we want to handle it.”
Carter was charged with two misdemeanors earlier this month — for reckless driving and racing — related to the Jan. 15 death of former teammate Devin Willock and Georgia staffer Chandler LeCroy in a car accident. He left the NFL Scouting Combine after being charged but returned a day later to speak with teams.
Thursday morning, Carter’s lawyer, Kim T. Stephens, entered two no-contest pleas and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service. He’ll also have to take a driving course.
As a result, his lawyer said in a statement, no further charges can be brought against him. Stephens said Carter “never left the scene of the accident” without being told he was allowed to, was not drinking and “did not cause the tragic accident.”
Carter will take one of the 30 Halas Hall official visits the Bears are allowed to offer potential draft picks.
Poles said the Bears “aren’t really there yet” in terms of making a decision about Carter’s draftability. Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus and both Bears coordinators went to his pro day in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday. Carter did not run sprints and opted to do only one drill — defensive line work, which he failed to finish.
“The Combine is a collection of information,” he said. “We got some there. We got more at the pro day.”
