Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles will hang up his cleats after one more season in the NFL. He announced that his 2018 campaign will be his last in a blog entitled “One More Year,” which he shared on Sunday.
Sproles surprised many by coming back for this coming season. He suffered a season-ending injury during the 2017 season, which he explained took its toll.
“Coming back from any injury is tough — especially a knee injury for a running back. 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.”
Thankfully, Sproles did get back to full health and noted, “Once I started rehabbing and running again I could tell I was good and ready for one more healthy year.”
He also discussed one of the things people talk about the most concerning the running back, which is his diminutive size.
“At my size, people often ask me how I’ve managed a decade plus long career in this league and I tell them the secret is simple— don’t get hit. Football is a collision sport so getting my agility back was key to my decision to play one more year.”
If he can stay healthy this year, Sproles can further etching his name in history. Right now, he’s No. 8 on the all-time all-purpose yards list (19,164 yards), but he could easily pass Steve Smith (7th) and Marshall Faulk (6th), as he noted in his announcement.
However, Sproles finished by saying he doesn’t play for the records. Instead, it’s all about he love of the game, and that’s something his daughter appears to get in a big way.
“I love this game. I love what I do. When my daughter Devyn looked me in the eye and told me I have to play one more year — well, that was it.”
We wish Sproles nothing but the best and hope he gets to finish his career on a healthy note.