Eagles

Sproles, Johnson Expected To Play Sunday

Paul Bowman Sports Editor

Published07 Nov 2018

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

On Wednesday, Doug Pederson announced that both Lane Johnson and Darren Sproles were expected to play Sunday against the Cowboys.

Both players will give a huge boost to the offense if they are truly healthy. The return of Sproles was foreshadowed by the moves the Eagles made on Tuesday.

Roster Move: #Eagles have signed DT T.Y. McGill and waived WR DeAndre Carter.

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 6, 2018

Carter had locked up a spot on the roster as the return man, so the Eagles would not have allowed him to walk if they didn’t think that Sproles was ready to go.

He was claimed on Wednesday, so should anything happen to Sproles, the Eagles will have to get creative to find a returner. Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood have each returned a few times.

Source: the Texans have claimed WR DeAndre Carter from the Eagles and waived RB Tyler Ervin.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 7, 2018

Meanwhile, McGill, who had been signed following Ajayi suffering a season-ending surgery but failed his physical, is likely on borrowed time and will likely be released once Tim Jernigan is ready to play.

Johnson was arguably the best tackle in football last season, but has been banged up all this season and has not been able to play to that level. If he is able to begin to play to that level again, there is no reason for anyone else to start.

Sproles, meanwhile, has missed seven of eight contests this season. His playmaking ability has been missed, especially in the return game. He will also be a welcome addition to the screen game along with newly added wideout Golden Tate.

In game one of this season, Sproles passed Steve Smith Sr. and Marshall Faulk on the all-purpose yardage leaderboard. He is currently sixth all time in the category and is only 457 yards behind Tim Brown for fifth. If he is able to stay healthy and make a couple big plays, he should have the chance to make up that ground in the final eight games (and any playoff games the Eagles may play).

Update: Sproles has suffered a setback at practice and is no longer expected to play against the Cowboys.