Should the Eagles close the book on the Darren Sproles chapter?

Could the Philadelphia Eagles bring Darren Sproles back for his final season?

Last year was a tough season for Philadelphia Eagles veteran running back Darren Sproles. After suffering not one, but two season-ending injuries on one play, Sproles had to watch his team fight to the top without him. Although he will get himself a Super Bowl ring for his sideline contributions, Sproles was still struggling with the fact that he could not contribute to the Eagles Super Bowl success.

2017 was the final year for Darren Sproles’ contract with Philadelphia. During multiple interviews in 2016, Sproles hinted at 2017 being his last year of playing football. But after his week three injury occurred in 2017, Sproles felt nothing but pain, and unsatisfaction. It didn’t take long until Sproles made it clear that he didn’t want to end like that.

Fast forward to March of 2018, and Sproles is back to working out in the gym getting ready for the 2018 season. The only difference between this years offseason preparation is that Sproles does not have a team to play on currently. After the opening of free agency came and went, Sproles, is still on the hunt for his next contract. Could the Eagles bring him back?

There’s some interest…

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was not shy about discussing Sproles on Tuesday in Orlando. When the topic of Darren Sproles came up, Pederson made it very clear that he would love to have Sproles back in midnight green for his 14th and final season. Here is what Pederson had to say according to NJ.com:

"“We’ve reached out to him during free agency and talked to him,” Pederson said. “He’s expressed he wants to be back here. He knows we want him back here. He’s a big part of our team. Punt returner. He was a tremendous back, third down guy. Yeah, so we’ll see where that falls out.”"

Sproles has served the Eagles well in his four-year tenure. Not only did he dominate in special teams, but he has been a reliable offensive weapon over the years. He has been responsible for 1,145 rushing yards, and 1,275 receiving yards, along with 14 total offensive touchdowns since 2014.

What should the Eagles do?

Before the big injury, Sproles almost seemed ageless. Had he not gone down with a torn ACL, he would probably get a much higher demand in the free agency market. But the fact that teams are not willing to scoop up Sproles on a cheap one-year deal is shocking. Maybe Sproles and his agent are waiting for that team to be the Philadelphia Eagles?

Should the Eagles extend an offer to Sproles? For sentimental reasons, the Eagles would love to bring Sproles back. But looking at the situation, it doesn’t make much sense. The Eagles backfield has proven to be very productive without number 43. Undrafted rookie Corey Clement has served the Eagles well in the passing/third-down role that Sproles was once king of.

So while it sounds fantastic to bring Sproles back, it just creates more of a distraction. At times over the last couple of years, the usage of Sproles felt forced. He might’ve been the better back of the previous three-headed monsters, but he doesn’t seem to fit the model of the running back that the Eagles need to bring in (LeGarrette Blount, for example).

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Now if Sproles is open to coming back on a cheap deal to return punts, then the Eagles should be all for it. As we all know, the Eagles have been struggling to find someone that could fill Sproles’ shoes in the return game while he was absent. But the chances of the Eagles only being able to utilize Sproles on special teams is very slim. It may feel like a great idea to bring Sproles back for a final year, but the Eagles should strongly consider closing the book on the Sproles era.

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