Eagles would be better off focusing on younger running backs over Darren Sproles

If the Philadelphia Eagles were smart, they would focus on their younger running backs this offseason instead of giving Darren Sproles another shot in 2019.

To say that Doug Pederson loves having Darren Sproles part of the Philadelphia Eagles would be a huge understatement since most teams in their position would have moved on from the veteran a long time ago.

With all due respect to Sproles since his presence has always been great for the Eagles, the fact that he’s going to be 36 by the start of next season, and has a history of injuries over the last couple of seasons is a huge concern.

Even this past season, Sproles missed a majority of the regular season while dealing with a hamstring injury, and while there were numerous times in which he came up big on offense, Philadelphia would arguably be just fine without him.

That’s where the next topic of conversation comes into play, as Sproles recently discussed how he will make a decision in May about whether it would be worth returning in 2019, or simply the time has come to call it a career.

As Eagles fans remember, Sproles originally claimed last season that 2018 would be his final year in the NFL, but it was clear in the later months the itch to continue playing was still there for the running back.

Does this mean Philadelphia would welcome Sproles back again with open arms if he were to give it another go in 2019? Sadly, as indicated before with Sproles always being a favorite for Pederson, it seems likely that the Eagles would actually allow this to happen.

However, with the recent trade to bring Jordan Howard on board along with the potential surrounding Corey Clement and Josh Adams to take on larger roles next season in the backfield, any carries for Sproles would be holding these younger stars back.

Sproles may feel that he can still bring plenty to the table as both a running back and returner on special teams, but also he does know Father Time is catching up with him.

After five years filled with plenty of amazing memories with the Eagles, here’s to hoping that Sproles does the team a favor by retiring before the 2019 season.

Otherwise, as mentioned before, it’s only going to hold the offense back by trying to get Sproles involved when Philadelphia should be going with other running backs that could bring more to the table.