Darren Sproles has a statistical goal he’s targeting in the final year of his career

In a post titled “One More Year” written on his online platform, Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles confirmed the 2018 season will be his last in the NFL.

This “news” hardly comes as a surprise. Sproles was originally set to retire after the 2017 season. The equation changed, of course, when Sproles suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3. Sproles didn’t want to go out that way.

And who could blame him? The 35-year-old has a prime opportunity to contribute to a defending Super Bowl team that could realistically make a back-to-back title run.

Sproles also admitted he’s eyeing a statistical goal that’s very much within reach.

I also noticed I am currently 8th on the career all-purpose yards list. Now, I doubt I’ll be able to catch #1 on the list, Jerry Rice, but with a couple good runs or a nice return, I should be able to climb past Steve Smith (7th) and Marshall Faulk (6th). It will probably take until about mid-season (maybe a little longer) but I got my eyes set on Tim Brown at #5. The only other players on the list after that are #4 Emmitt Smith, #3 Walter Payton and #2 Brian Mitchell.

Sproles only needs 528 more all-purpose yards to be fifth overall in NFL history. At his current career pace of 112 all-purpose yards per game, he can hit that mark in a mere five weeks.

Reaching that top five status should only strengthen Sproles’ case to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are currently only three players among the top 10 all-purpose yard leaders who aren’t in the Hall: Brian Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Sproles. Smith is bound to don a golden jacket one day. Mitchell deserves to make it but there are reservations due to how much of his production came from return yards. Sproles is obviously a more dynamic offensive weapon than Mitchell was and he’s always been a threatening returner as well.

Here’s hoping that Sproles makes it to the top five. It’d be great to see him reach that achievement after coming off injury. It’d also be pretty great if he helps the Eagles reach their ultimate team goal of winning another Super Bowl. That’d be the perfect way for him to ride off into the sunset.