Eagles: Drew Brees’ interesting prediction for Darren Sproles’ final season
One of the NFL’s best and brightest has an interesting theory on how Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles’ final season will end up going. You’ll want to read this one.
Recently, one future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Drew Brees, shared his thoughts on someone who hasn’t shared the locker room with him in quite some time. You may not believe this, but once upon a time, Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles was the third man on what was then the San Diego Chargers‘ depth chart for running backs.
Sitting behind Ladanian Tomlinson and Michael Turner is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s also a testament to how well former Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer built that team in that era. The Chargers were so well stocked that they could let the likes of, both, Drew Brees and the aforementioned Sproles leave to explore other opportunities.
Brees would leave earlier, but both would leave nonetheless.
A stocked roster leads to some opportunities for other NFL franchises.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Chargers’ depth was certainly a topic of conversation when Brees and Sproles were teammates in San Diego. Following the 2005 NFL season, Brees’ final in San Diego and Sproles’ first, San Diego figured they’d be fine in the capable hands of Philip Rivers.
Brees found his way to ‘The Big Easy’ and joined the New Orleans Saints. Sproles would rejoin his friend in 2011 and would play with the Saints for three seasons.
Sproles caught 232 passes over that stretch, racking up 1,1981 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with the 1,067 yards he gained on 188 totes. Brees and Sproles were quite the team.
Sproles has been in Philly since 2014 but missed the 2018 campaign after suffering a season-ending injury (two of them actually) in Philly’s third game of the season.
Recently, he announced he’d return for one more run with his Eagles’ teammates, and the Saints’ signal caller, Brees, took some time to weigh in with Indianapolis’ 1070 The Fan on how Mr. Spoles’ final season may shake up in ‘The City of Brotherly Love’.
"I’m calling it right now. It’s either (Andre Luck) or Darren Sproles for NFL comeback player of the year. I’m just calling it right now."
Sproles will have plenty of help in Philly’s backfield. He’ll be joined by Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement. When you think about the fact that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (or Nick Foles) will have other weapons like Alshon Jeffery, Mike Wallace, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert to spread the ball around to, it feels like Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has a ton of toys to play with.
Next: One NFL writer thinks Fletcher Cox may be overpaid
Expect some timely touches by Sproles during the 2018 season along with some chances for him to pay dividends on special teams. When you think about it, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award doesn’t sound like too tall of an order.