Darren

Sproles

The bite-sized back was not effective on the ground, gaining only 10 yards on seven carries. But one exceptional 19-yard catch showed off the hands that should make him a factor on passing downs this year.

Watch this kid closely. If he explodes in the preseason, the Chargers will be forced to make him part of the offense. Michael Turner gets the start at running back with LT2 resting.

Sproles was initially set to retire last year but wanted to finish his career on a higher note after a hamstring injury limited him to just six regular season appearances. Currently fifth-overall in all-purpose yards (19,696) behind Jerry Rice (23,546), Brian Mitchell (23,330), Walter Payton (21,803), and Emmitt Smith (21,564), Sproles’ extensive 15-year career comes to a close with three Pro Bowls and infinite broken ankles stemming from his explosiveness in his prime. The 36-year-old hangs up his cleats as the only player in league history with more than 30 receiving touchdowns, 20 rushing touchdowns, and a kickoff and punt return touchdown to boot.

Thanks to Julius Peppers’ $16.68M salary last season, the defensive end price tag will increase from $8.99M to $12.398M. Running backs also see a nice jump, from $6.62M to $8.156M. The Raiders now have extra incentive to agree to a long-term deal with Richard Seymour while the Chargers figure out if Darren Sproles is worth over $8M in 2010.

According to Acee, the teams were in talks right up until the deadline. Bush would have gone to the Chargers in exchange for a second-day pick, but the Raiders pulled out on the deal. Chargers GM A.J. would neither confirm nor deny the report. LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup, Darren Sproles, is an unrestricted free agent after the season, so the team may have been simply trying to add depth and insurance.

He suffered a partial tear in Week 5 before returning against Chicago in Week 9. Further tests Thursday confirmed his injury had worsened, prompting the Eagles to rule him out for the remainder of 2019. 36 and coming off consecutive injury-plagued seasons, this could very well be the last we see of Sproles in the NFL. A three-time Pro Bowler, the 15-year vet was one of the more entertaining players in the sport during his prime.

Sproles could steal pass-game work from rookie Miles Sanders. This would be a shame; Sanders has been brilliant as both a receiver and pass blocker with Sproles sidelined this season. Overall, Sanders (2.63 yards per route run) joins Austin Ekeler (2.63), Aaron Jones (2.38), James White (2.16), Chris Thompson (2.09) and Dalvin Cook (2.01) as the league’s only RBs to average at least two yards per route run after eight weeks (PFF, minimum 15 targets).

No surprises here. Sproles remains out with a quad issue, Jackson has an abdominal issue, and Peters has a knee injury.

Miles Sanders (54% snaps) actually worked ahead of Jordan Howard (38%) last week, although that was mostly due to the Eagles falling behind by two touchdowns just six minutes into the game. Howard (13 touches) still worked ahead of Sanders (9) when it came to getting the rock. The Eagles’ second-round rookie is locked in as the offense’s lead pass-down back, but that’s resulted in a combined six targets over the past two weeks. Sanders isn’t a realistic fantasy option for this Sunday’s brutal road matchup against the Bills.

Without him, punt return duties will fall with Nelson Agholor and Corey Clement. The veteran hasn’t played much of a role on offense this year, seeing the field on just 26.1 percent of snaps while working as a distant third to committee backs Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders. Clement, who has yet to log an offensive touch this season, could see more backfield work in his absence.