Should the Philadelphia Eagles retire Darren Sproles’ number?

Should the Philadelphia Eagles hang 43 from the Linc’s rafters?

Darren Sproles‘ career may go down as one of the strangest in NFL history.

He played 13 NFL seasons with only 31 starts, averaged 10 total offensive touches per game over an entire season once, and wasn’t voted into a Pro Bowl until his ninth professional season – at the sprightly age of 31 no less. Still, Sproles turned what could have been a gimmicky role as a change of pace ‘mighty mouse’ into a vital offensive piece on three separate playoff-bound offenses, all the while slowly climbing up the league’s all-time all-purpose yards list under everyone’s noses.

Much like Sproles’ draft classmate, Frank Gore, it’s entirely possible Canton will come calling when his eligibility comes up, if for no other reason than his tireless motors and unwavering longevity.

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Fun Fact: Only eight of Sproles’ draft classmates are still in the league. Their names? Alex Smith, Thomas Davis, Aaron Rodgers, Mike Nugent, Gore, Richie Incognito, Dustin Colquitt, and
Ryan Fitzpatrick. Sproles went four picks after another long-time Eagle, Todd Herremans, who retired back in 2015 to focus on *get this* medical cannabis advocacy. Huh, good for him.

Measuring in at 5-foot-6, 190 pounds, Sproles was initially selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft after a monster career at Kansas State to join Phillip Rivers. He played five seasons over six years under two separate head coaches in San Diego before signing a four-year, $12 million deal to join his rookie starting quarterback, Drew Brees, in New Orleans. That connection, while prolific, only lasted three seasons, as Chip Kelly flipped a 2014 fifth-round pick to Sean Payton and company for the then-31-year-old’s services after he torched the guys in green during a 2013 Wild Card game.

Huh, Chip Kelly did something right. That’s rare.

This brings us to the final and most prolific chapter of Sproles’s career, and inspires a question worth asking: Should the Philadelphia Eagles retire the number 43 once and for all?

Well, that question is a complicated one. Technically Sproles appeared in more games for the Chargers than the Eagles thanks to a trio of injury-shortened seasons from 2017-19, and picked up the plurality of his all-purpose and receiving yards as a member of the Saints. With that being said, Sproles earned all three of his Pro Bowls in midnight green, was utilized most traditionally as a running back by the Eagles, and even has a Super Bowl win on his resume thanks to Doug Pederson’s cinderella 2017 season.

Sproles even works for the team now in the organization’s football operations department as a personnel consultant, joining long-time teammates Brent Celek and Connor Barwin on the other side of the Novacare Center.

If you haven’t already, definitely read the open retirement message Sproles penned on the Philadelphia Eagles’ website and try to tell me the then-37-year-old doesn’t bleed green.

But then again, Sproles currently ranks 27th overall in the Eagles’ all-time rushing history behind quarterbacks like Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb, 45th overall in receiving yards behind Alshon Jeffery and Terrell Owens, and barring another unretirement, those records are just going to go down as the years pass on. The only category Sproles comes even remotely close to topping is punt return yards, where he ranks second behind Brian Mitchell by 14 yards on one fewer attempt, and really, are special teamers getting their numbers retired? A kicker maybe, but a punt returner? I’m not so sure.

But then again again, how many players are really vying for the number 43? It’s a second-tier running backs number, a third-tier defensive backs number, and a last resort option for linebackers unlucky enough to land a number in the 50s. With only one number in the 40s (40) currently retired, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to avoid handing the number out to any old UDFA with little chance to make the squad. We don’t want 43 to become the next 36, if you know what I mean.

But, but, but, but. Needless to say, it’s a complicated question.

Ultimately, I don’t think the Philadelphia Eagles will or should retire the number 43. While Darren Sproles may one day find his bust immortalized forever in the halls of the, um, Hall of Fame, his career was segmented enough that it’s hard to argue that any singular team, not the Chargers, the Saints, or even the Eagles, should outright own his legacy in the way typically required for such a serious honor. If anything, maybe Doug Pederson and company should only hand the number out to dynamic, dual-threat players worthy of following in the do-it-all baller’s larger than life shoes? Boston Scott, anyone?