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Philadelphia Eagles Running Back Darren Sproles to Play One More Year Before Retiring

Sproles, 35, announced in a blog post he plans to play one more year.

What to Know

  • Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles will retire after the upcoming season.
  • He is currently rehabbing his way back from a torn ACL and a broken forearm.
  • Sproles will enter the 2018 season with 19,155 all-purpose yards and is eighth on the all-time list.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles will retire after the upcoming season. Sproles, 35, announced in a blog post he plans to play one more year. He is currently rehabbing his way back from a torn ACL and a broken forearm.

"Coming back from any injury is tough—especially a knee injury for a running back," Sproles wrote. "I wondered if I was going to come back the same, if I would still have my quickness. That’s the main thing because I don’t want to go out there and start getting smacked. Once I started rehabbing and running again I could tell I was good and ready for one more healthy year."

Sproles will enter the 2018 season with 19,155 all-purpose yards. He's already eighth in NFL history and has a chance to surpass quite a few names on the top ten list with a productive season. There are just seven players in front of him and five of them are already Hall of Famers:

Jerry Rice: 23,546
Brian Mitchell: 23,330
Walter Payton: 21,803
Emmit Smith: 21,564
Tim Brown: 19,682
Marshall Faulk: 19,190
Steve Smith Jr.: 19,180

"Now, I doubt I’ll be able to catch #1 on the list, Jerry Rice, but with a couple good runs or a nice return, I should be able to climb past Steve Smith (7th) and Marshall Faulk (6th)," Sproles wrote. "It will probably take until about mid-season (maybe a little longer) but I got my eyes set on Tim Brown at #5."

Sproles also wrote however that his family, rather than the chance to break records, is his biggest motivation to play another year.

"When my daughter Devyn looked me in the eye and told me I have to play one more year—well, that was it," he wrote.

Sproles joined the Eagles in 2014 after playing for the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints. He made the Pro Bowl three times with the Eagles and was also named to the Second-team All-Pro in 2014.

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