Eagles RB Sproles to retire after 2018 season
Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles announced Sunday that the 2018 season will be his last in the NFL.
Sproles, who turned 35 last month, wrote in a blog post that he planned for 2017 to be his final campaign before he suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament and broken right arm in Week 3, ending his season.
"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," he wrote.
Despite the injuries as he heads into his 14th season, Sproles expects to still have his trademark explosiveness this year.
"I wondered if I was going to come back the same, if I would still have my quickness," he wrote. "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."
As he noted in the post, Sproles ranks eighth on the NFL's career all-purpose yards list (19,155). He needs just 36 to pass Steve Smith (19,180) and Marshall Faulk (19,190), and 528 to pass Tim Brown (19,682) for fifth place. Emmitt Smith (21,564) is much further off in fourth place.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Sproles had topped 1,100 all-purpose yards in all 11 of his full seasons, peaking with an NFL best 2,696 in 2011 with the New Orleans Saints. He spent the first six years of his career with the San Diego Chargers before a three-year stint in New Orleans and the last four years in Philadelphia.
Sproles totaled 61 rushing yards on 15 carries (4.1 per carry) and 73 yards on seven catches (10.4 average) last season. He had 865 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns, plus a return touchdown, in his last full season in 2016.
--Field Level Media
