Darren Sproles addresses his desire to return, and last year’s injury issues

Longtime veteran running back Darren Sproles is undecided on his future, but it sounds like he’s leaning towards returning.

Back in 2017, we weren’t sure if we saw Darren Sproles’ career come to an end during a week three matchup against the New York Giants. Sproles would go down with an injury during the first half, which kept him out for the remainder of the game. It took a while for an official update, but the following morning after a Philadelphia Eagles victory, they found out that they would be taking a loss. Sproles was diagnosed with a broken forearm and a torn ACL all from the same play.

Sproles would then sit back and watch the Eagles cruise through the NFC as they made their miraculous 2017 Super Bowl run. While he was thrilled for his teammates and all that they have accomplished, Sproles wanted to return to get a taste of that action first-hand. So after many talks with the Eagles’ front office, he found himself back on a one-year deal – but the road to getting back to normal for Sproles became even more difficult.

What happened last year?

Since joining the Eagles in 2014, Sproles only missed two games through three seasons. Over the last two years, he ended up just playing in nine regular-season matchups. He made it back to the field during the Eagles’ week one matchup against the Atlanta Falcons and played his role reasonably well. Unfortunately, he was dealing with some hamstring complications at practice while preparing for the second week of the season.

Week two, Sproles was ruled out. Then week three, week four, week five, and so on. It took eleven weeks for Darren Sproles to get back on the field in 2018. At that point, the Eagles would already accept the fact that their backfield wasn’t going to be very very useful, so whatever Sproles brought to the table was merely a plus.

Although his situation was frustrating in 2018, it was just as confusing as it was aggravating. As Sproles would miss more than half the season, the Eagles kept him off the injured reserve. And whenever his health would be questioned by the media to his coaches, the Eagles pretty much had nothing to say about it.

“I pushed myself too hard in the beginning; then I tried to come back from that [knee injury] too soon and wound up just making it worse,” Sproles told The Press of Atlantic City’s David Weinberg. Sproles’ main reason for returning in 2018 was because he needed some self-redemption after missing 13 games and a playoff run two years ago. This year? It’s pretty much the same case. He’s leaning towards giving it one more season.

What are the chances he’s back in Philly?

Howie Roseman failed to mention Darren Sproles’ name in Arizona last week while at the Coaches and Owners meetings when discussing the state of the backfield. However, Doug Pederson made it quite clear that he would love to have Sproles back in midnight green if he’s willing to return. Apparently, there’s mutual interest between Sproles and the team.

Similar to last season, Sproles plans to have ears for the Eagles only. He’s got interest from other teams, but if he decides he wants to come back and play, he wants it to be in Philly. Although the Eagles recently traded for running back, Jordan Howard, it doesn’t close the door on a Sproles return. Howard is a nice fit as a power back for the committee. But the Eagles still need a speedy pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Sproles fits the mold of their desired type, but does his age and recent injury history shy the team away from handing a 35-year-old running back a one-year deal? It’s definitely not out of the question. As Sproles will make his decision on a potential return in May, the Eagles have to figure out whether they are going to draft a running back or not. If they do, Sproles’ chance of returning becomes slim-to-none. If the Eagles avoid selecting a rookie this year, we can all assume that we know where their heads are at in this process.