Eagles' ageless RB Darren Sproles finds motivation to overcome knee injury

PHILADELPHIA – Darren Sproles is 35 years old and coming off a torn ACL.

But you would never know by watching Sproles in practice during training camp. He suffered the injury Sept. 24 against the Giants. Yet Sproles was ready for full contact when training camp opened July 26.

As teammate Matt Jones, a fellow running back, put it: "He’s still fast. He still keeps his body in great shape. He’s a high-energy guy, who’s strong, passionate about playing football."

In fact, Sproles said he's as fast as he's ever been. But it's easy to wonder why Sproles would put himself through a rigorous offseason to recover from his knee surgery just for one more season.

After all, he has accomplished so much in a remarkable 13-season career. It would have been easy for Sproles to head off into retirement, secure in the knowledge that he helped revolutionize the role of a third-down back, and made it possible for a smaller player to excel. Sproles is listed as 5-foot-6, 190 pounds.

"You gotta look at the bigger picture," Sproles said. "That’s what keeps me going."

And what was the bigger picture?

"Being back out here with my guys," he said.

Sproles was one of a handful of key Eagles players who was injured during the Super Bowl run in 2017. It's a group that included quarterback Carson Wentz, left tackle Jason Peters, middle linebacker Jordan Hicks and special teams ace Chris Maragos.

Sproles has said that he didn't want to retire because of an injury. 

Carson Wentz returns to 11-on-11 drills, and what that means for Eagles' opener

Could Eagles' Week 1 quarterback be Nate Sudfeld? 

Middletown's Hurd second in nation in gymnastics, behind only Simone Biles

But Sproles said there was one other source of motivation that drove him to return, that superseded most of the other reasons. 

"When my little girl had said she wanted to see me back out there for one more year, that’s what got me going again," Sproles said about his 9-year-old daughter, Devyn. "She's old enough to see me play, and she wanted to see me do it one more time. That was good enough for me."

Would he have retired if she had said that's what she wanted?

"I don't know," he said with a laugh. "It would have been a tough call."

You won't see Sproles' progress during the preseason games. Sproles has rarely played in them during the past, and Eagles coach Doug Pederson said that won't change for him or Peters, who's 36 years old and also coming off a torn ACL.

"Listen, practices are as hard, if not harder, than games," Pederson said. "So we're seeing enough in practice to know these two guys are ready to go."

Sproles said if coaches want him to play this Thursday against the Cleveland Browns, he will. If not, he'll continue to get ready for the season opener Sept. 6.

Sproles could conceivably find himself in a new role as a kick returner, to go along with his third-down back and punt returner duties. He leads all active players in career punt-return touchdowns with seven. 

The new rules in which the kicking team can't get a running start would seem to open up more space for Sproles to return kicks.

Sproles hasn't been a regular kickoff returner since 2011, when he was with the New Orleans Saints. In his four seasons with the Eagles, Sproles has returned a total of three kicks.

"We had some good kickoff returners here, so I didn’t have to," Sproles said. "That wasn’t on my plate."

"He’d be a great kick returner if he was back there all the time," special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. "It’s just whether or not that’s the best thing for the football team, probably, is what you have to weigh the most."

But mostly, Sproles just wants to play for one more year, to end his career on his terms – and his daughter's.

"I just want to have my best year, you know what I’m saying?" Sproles said. "That’s my main goal. I want to go out with a bang."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.