Darren Sproles To Retire After 2018 Season

Eagles running back Darren Sproles will retire from the NFL after the 2018 season, as the veteran explained in a post today.

“The plan was for 2017 to be my last season,” writes Sproles. “I was 34, had a great career, accomplished a lot—it was time. No one ever expected my career to last this long, over a decade but I was proud to prove them all wrong. Then my season ended a little earlier than expected, to an injury.

An injury is different; It’s something you don’t have any control over but I feel like I left a lot out there, and I couldn’t let my career end like that.”

As Sproles alludes to, he’d originally hinted that 2017 would be his final NFL campaign, but backtracked on that sentiment even before multiple injuries ended his season in September. Sproles not only suffered a torn ACL, but a broken arm during the first month of the 2017 season, which concluded with Sproles having played in just three games.

After deciding to return for 2018, Sproles inked a one-year deal with the Eagles that contains $1MM in guarantees. Now 35 years old, Sproles will be part of a Philadelphia backfield that also includes Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, Matt Jones, Wendell Smallwood, and Donnel Pumphrey. Sproles should be guaranteed a roster spot, and will likely handle passing game work in the Eagles’ offense.

Maintaining value based on his receiving skills is nothing new for Sproles, who has never topped 100 carries in a season during his lengthy pro tenure. Sproles spent the early portion of his career as LaDainian Tomlinson‘s backup with the Chargers, but emerged to even greater prominence as a backfield weapon for Drew Brees and the Saints. He was shipped to the Eagles in 2015 in exchange for a fifth-round pick.

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