Darren Sproles Returns to Eagles on One-Year Deal

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

With just days until the start of Eagles training camp, Howie Roseman and the front office decided to make a change.

On Friday afternoon, the team announced that they had signed veteran running back and return man Darren Sproles to a one-year deal.

Roster Move: #Eagles have agreed to terms with RB Darren Sproles on a one-year contract.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/l6qnpthxLJ

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 19, 2019

Sproles will join Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders and Corey Clement as running backs that seem to have a spot locked up on the 53-man roster. His return will likely make it difficult for Boston Scott, Wendell Smallwood or Josh Adams to crack the roster.

His ability as a return man could also make the path more difficult for guys like Deandre Thompkins and Blake Countess to earn a spot based off of their own returning skills.

You could certainly say it is a debatable move.

On one hand, Sproles could provide a much needed boost to a team that lacked a real return game all season. Sproles also provides and excellent veteran presence.

Of course, it must also be noted that Sproles is currently sixth on the All-Time All-Purpose yardage leaderboard. He is just 162 yards behind Hall of Famer Tim Brown for the fifth spot.

On the flip side, Sproles taking a roster spot seemingly removes young talent from the roster and could come back to bite the team.

Sproles has also appeared in just nine games over the past two regular seasons. A player with that injury history probably can’t be counted on to stay healthy all season and the team will likely look to keep at least one of the previously mentioned young backs around by signing them to the practice squad.

One thing is certain – many of his teammates are glad he’s back. We’ll just have to wait and see if it was a good move to bring him back.