Tag: Darren Sproles

DeSean Jackson, Darren Sproles recruiting LeSean McCoy back to the Eagles

DeSean Jackson, Darren Sproles recruiting LeSean McCoy back to the Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles currently have three running backs on the roster and will be active in free agency when it comes to evaluating talent.

One possible option is former Eagles star running back LeSean McCoy. The veteran running back just earned his first Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs and is looking to catch on with a team during free agency.

On Sunday McCoy made those plans known, taking to social media to tease fans by saying he looks good in any color NFL jersey.

Shortly after the post, DeSean Jackson and Darren Sproles took to Instagram to encourage Shady to return home.

McCoy, the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, is expected to hit the free agency market on March 16th after the Chiefs made it clear he won’t return.

NFL Insider Mike Garafolo said a return to the Eagles is possible for Shady.

“I would not discount the possibility of him returning to the Eagles,” Garafolo said. “I also would not discount the possibility that he meets up with Anthony Lynn out with the Chargers, who are going to have some changes in the backfield. So, some interesting possibilities for LeSean McCoy as he heads into free agency.”

Last season with Buffalo and Kansas City, McCoy carried the ball 101 times for 465 yards and four touchdowns.

McCoy won a ring with the Chiefs but was inactive for the bulk of the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

Darren Sproles weighs-in on his Hall of Fame worthiness

Darren Sproles: I feel like I’m a Hall of Famer, but it’s not for me to choose

Darren Sproles is set to retire and join the Philadelphia Eagles front office but that hasn’t stopped the former NFL running back from looking ahead to all the accolades that await him.

The former Kansas State star helped redefine the running back position in the NFL and made it cool for guys like Boston Scott to chase their dreams.

The Eagles personnel expert is now awaiting his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sproles should be Canton bound, after breaking the NFL’s all-time record for all-purpose yards in a season with 2,696 back in 2011.

Sproles returned to the Eagles this season for one last go-round and was able to move into the top-five in NFL history in all-purpose yards.

When asked about his Hall of Fame prospects by TMZ Sports, Sproles said he hopes so.

“I hope so, but I don’t know. I’ve got to wait and see,” Sproles said. “I feel like I am, but it’s not for me to choose.”

Sproles was joined in LA by Eagles star right guard Brandon Brooks, who echoed those sentiments and more.

“Bro, there is no doubt.”

A 15-year veteran, Sproles will walk away from the game ranked fifth in NFL history with 19,696 all-purpose yards behind Jerry Rice, Brian Mitchell, Walter Payton, and Emmitt Smith.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Sproles is the only NFL player ever to score at least 30 receiving touchdowns (32), 20 rushing touchdowns (23), one kickoff return touchdown (2), and one punt return touchdown (7) in his career.

Former Saints running back Darren Sproles hired for Eagles consulting job

The Philadelphia Eagles hired retired NFL running back Darren Sproles, formerly of the Saints and Chargers, as a personnel consultant.

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Here’s a new career turn for Darren Sproles, the former New Orleans Saints running back. While 2019 was his last season as a player, having ended his career with the Philadelphia Eagles (who acquired him in a trade with the Saints back in 2014), the Eagles announced Friday that Sproles is one of many new additions to their organization. In fact, he’s one of several former Eagles players to join the front office.

Sproles will continue to work with the Eagles as a personnel consultant, along with his former teammate Brent Celek. While they will both work in the personnel department, former Eagles pass rusher Connor Barwin was also hired as special assistant to general manager Howie Roseman.

It’s not that surprising to see Sproles hang around with a team he’s grown loyal to. The 36-year-old appeared in 63 games for Philadelphia, including the playoffs, which is more than he played with the Saints (48). He also started his career with the then-San Diego Chargers, playing 84 games on the West Coast before following Drew Brees to New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent in 2011. He ended his career with the fifth-most yards from scrimmage in NFL history.

Now he’ll get to help scout the next generation of NFL stars. As a personnel consultant, he’ll probably be working as a part-time scout by evaluating game film of college prospects or pending free agents from around the league. Working as a consultant rather than a full-time area scout will be a great way for him to gain experience and help decide the next step in his career. Hopefully he doesn’t end up helping the Eagles pick a player the Saints coveted.

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Eagles hire Darren Sproles, Brent Celek for personnel roles

Eagles announce changes to the football operations department

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced the following changes to the football operations department and three former Eagles are now members of the personnel.

The team has hired former running back Darren Sproles and tight end Brent Celek as personnel consultants, where they’ll join Connor Barwin in his new role of special assistant to the General Manager.

The Eagles also announced the additions of Tom Hunkele as the new director of sports medicine, Ted Rath as the new director of sports performance, and Jeremiah Washburn as director of player personnel/senior defensive assistant.

NFL Free Agency: A look at the Eagles 2020 free agents

NFL Free Agency: A look at the Eagles 2020 free agents

The Philadelphia Eagles’ have done a good job keeping their best players under contract for the long-term, but with age and attrition starting to chip away at this team, it’s time for a reboot towards a younger roster.

With plenty of room under the salary cap, Will Howie Roseman and the Eagles look to continue to take care of their own with contract extensions and re-signings, or will the roster look drastically different thanks to players being allowed to walk in free agency?

Here’s an early look at which Eagles players are currently scheduled to become free agents including select players who have team options for the 2020 season.

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Nelson Agholor WR 27 UFA –

The Eagles exercised Agholor’s 2019 fifth-year option last offseason, and he had one of the worst seasons of his career. Agholor missed the bulk of the Eagles playoff run with a knee injury and the team played better without him. Agholor will likely walk in free agency and could still make good money as a slot receiver on the open market.

Nigel Bradham OLB 30 CO –

The Eagles hold a team option for Bradham and they should let him walk. The Eagles can address the middle linebacker spot via the draft or free agency, while T.J. Edwards looks ready to start in Bradham’s place.

Deontay Burnett WR 22 ERFA –

Corey Clement RB 25 RFA –

A restricted free agent, the Eagles could bring back Clement utilizing one of the four tenders. He’s talented, explosive and can only add to the running game.

Vinny Curry DE 32 UFA –

Ronald Darby CB 26 UFA –

Darby returned to the Eagles in 2019 after signing a one year deal and he again finished the season on injured reserve. Darby is likely to move on as the Eagles look to restructure the secondary.

Shelton Gibson WR 25 ERFA –

Kamu Grugier-Hill OLB UFA –

Grugier-Hill finished the season on a sour note, losing reps after some dishonesty about a concussion he suffered.

Jordan Howard RB 25 UFA –

At the beginning of the season, he looked like a keeper but with the emergence of Boston Scott and Miles Sanders, the Eagles could decide to look elsewhere and spend that capital on another skill player.

Craig James CB 24 ERFA –

Timmy Jernigan DT 27 UFA –

Cameron Johnston P ERFA –

Josh McCown QB 41 UFA –

McCown could decide to retire and continue to coach his son’s football team. He’d be a great addition to the Eagles coaching staff he made that choice.

Rodney McLeod FS 30 UFA –

McLeod and Jenkins both want new deals and the Eagles are only likely to keep one.

Jalen Mills S 26 UFA –

Jason Peters LT 38 UFA –

The Eagles will have a decision to make on Peters, who’ll be one of the top free agents if he decides to continue playing.

Hassan Ridgeway DT 25 UFA –
Richard Rodgers TE 28 UFA –
Darren Sproles RB 37 UFA –

Nate Sudfeld QB 26 UFA –

Sudfeld didn’t play any snaps this season after suffering an injury during the preseason. He’s likely to return to Philadelphia as Carson Wentz’s backup.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai G UFA –

Vaitai will likely cash out as a free agent because of the versatility he brings in playing both guard and tackle.

Eagles RB Darren Sproles announces that he’ll retire at the end of 2019 NFL season

Darren Sproles announces that he’ll retire at seasons end

The Philadelphia Eagles have even more of a reason to beat the Dallas Cowboys and advance to the playoffs. Eagles running back and future Hall of Famer, Darren Sproles just announced that he’s retiring at seasons end.

Deonte Harris got back up to speed quickly for Saints vs. 49ers

The New Orleans Saints needed rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris to make an impact against the San Francisco 49ers, and he impressed.

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The New Orleans Saints went into their game with the San Francisco 49ers with an aggressive mindset, and few players embodied that approach stronger than rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris. Harris returned quietly from a hamstring injury in the Saints’ Thanksgiving game against the Atlanta Falcons, picking up just 30 yards on two kick returns and a punt return, but his numbers versus the 49ers could not have been more different.

The rookie fielded five kickoffs to gain 155 yards, a season-high. He returned a pair of punts to pick up 37 yards, his third-best mark on the year so far and his highest since Week 7’s game with the Chicago Bears, in which he gained 46 punt return yards (and lost a 67-yard touchdown return to a phantom holding penalty). Combine all of his touches against San Francisco — including a 13-yard pickup on a screen pass and an 8-yard gain on an end-around handoff — and he gave the Saints 205 all-purpose yards on the day.

Saints coach Sean Payton credited Harris with his consistent production on kick returns, noting that the rookie was taking advantage of poor kicking by San Francisco rather than following a “green light” directive to try and make a play on every kickoffs, no matter the odds. It’s a sign of Harris’s intelligence that he saw an opportunity to help his team, and took it.

Where does this stand in recent Saints history? Harris has an argument to make as the best special teams returner in the Sean Payton era, because his 269 punt return yards this year trails just two other single-season performances going back to Payton’s hiring in 2006. Only Reggie Bush’s 2008 season (270 punt return yards) and Darren Sproles’ 2011 campaign (294) are above Harris’s output, and he still has three games to play. He needs 26 combined yards in those games to set the high-water mark for Payton’s tenure.

His next game comes on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the Indianapolis Colts, who will be without all-time great kicker Adam Vinatieri after his recent knee surgery. Vinatieri has not been handling kickoff duties for the Colts, with third-year punter Rigoberto Sanchez standing in. Harris will have opportunities to build on his impressive rookie season in front of a national audience.

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Eagles could be without injured RB Jordan Howard vs. the Patriots

Jordan Howard could miss game vs. Patriots with a shoulder injury

The Philadelphia Eagles have started to get back some key pieces on the defensive side of the ball, but on Friday, the offense took another hit on the injury front. Darren Sproles has a season-ending hip injury, and on Friday, Doug Pederson indicated that Jordan Howard is dealing with a shoulder injury that could keep him out of Sunday’s huge contest in New England.

The Eagles brought Jay Ajayi in for a workout on Friday and the team will likely sign the running back to a contract.

Pederson stated that Howard suffered a stinger near the end of the Bears game and hasn’t been cleared for contact yet.

Eagles RB Darren Sproles to miss remainder of season with hip injury

Darren Sproles to miss remainder of season with hip injury

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has announced that Darren Sproles will miss the remainder of the 2019 season with a hip injury.

Sproles suffered the injury in practice this week, and it’s a bad break for the Eagles running back, who missed three games with a quad injury before being cleared to play against the Bears in Week 9.

Eagles Injury Report: Alshon Jeffery among 3 players who did not practice

Alshon Jeffery among 3 Eagles players who did not practice

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The Philadelphia Eagles released their Thursday injury report in advance of Sunday’s showdown with the Patriots and Alshon Jeffery missed his second practice in a row.

Darren Sproles was a new addition to the report after Thursday’s practice with a quad injury that sidelined him previously. Nigel Bradham (ankle) missed practice, while Jordan Howard (shoulder) and Jason Peters (knee) remain limited.

If Jeffery can’t go, the Eagles will have Jordan Howard and Nelson Agholor as their No. 1 receivers, with JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Mack Hollins as the other available players on the outside.

Expect Philadelphia to lean on tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.