Darren Sproles
Teams
San Diego Chargers (2005-2010)
New Orleans Saints (2011-2013)
Philadelphia Eagles (2014-2019)
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (2006,2007,2008,2009,2011,2013,2017,2018,2019)
Conf Champ Games - 2 (2007,2017)
Super Bowls - 1 (2017)
Championships - 1 (2017)
Awards and Honors
All-Pro Second Team - 1 (2014)
Pro Bowl - 3 (2014,2015,2016)
All-Time Ranks
Yards per Touch - #63
League Leads
Receptions (#7-2011)
Yards per Touch (#3-2010, #4-2011, #7-2013, #8-2012, #10-2009)
After graduating from Kansas State as the school's all-time leading rusher, racking up 4979 yards over 4 years, Darren Sproles was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 4th round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Sproles was never a full-time starting running back in the NFL, but he was used to catch a lot of passes out of the backfield, and was one of the top kick returners throughout his career. After hardly playing as a rookie, he broke his ankle in the 2006 preseason and ended up missing the entire season.
In 2007, Sproles scored his first two career touchdowns in the same game, one on a kickoff return and one on a punt return. Later in the season, he also had a game with 2 rushing touchdowns. The next season he became the second player ever to have 50 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards, and 100 return yards in one game, joining Gale Sayers on that very exclusive list.
In the first playoff game of the 2008 season, Sproles started in place of LaDainian Tomlinson, who was injured, and had 328 all-purpose yards, the third-most by a player in playoff history. After 6 seasons with the Chargers, Sproles left as a free agent to sign with the Saints for the 2011 season.
2011 was a down year for running backs overall, but not for Sproles, who had his best overall season. He had 603 rushing yards, which was a career high, and 710 receiving yards, also the best of his career. He caught 86 passes, #7 in the league, and finished with 1313 scrimmage yards and 9 touchdowns.
Over the next couple of seasons in New Orleans, he saw his opportunities to run the ball shrink, though he still caught a lot of passes, gaining over 600 yards receiving in each of those seasons. After the 2013 season ended, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sproles played mostly as a return specialist in Philadelphia, but his contributions were finally recognized, as he was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 3 seasons with the Eagles, and made the All-Pro Second Team in 2014. In 2017, he broke his arm and tore his ACL on the same play, causing him to miss the rest of the season, including the team's Super Bowl win over the Patriots.
He announced before the 2018 season that it would be his last, but after missing most of the season with a hamstring injury, he decided to play just one more. He ended up tearing his hip flexor and again missing most of the season, leading to his retirement for good.
Sproles finished his career at #5 on the all-purpose yardage list, and holds the record for most all-purpose yards in a season. He may not have gotten the chance to run the ball as much in the NFL as he did in college, but he became a very good pass catcher out of the backfield, and was frequently among the league leaders in yards per touch, and should be listed among the greatest to play the game.
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