It's not easy to take the field nearly every week over more than a decade in the NFL, particularly if you're only 5-6, but Darren Sproles has managed to pull it off.
That will change this weekend, as the Eagles' all-around threat will miss Sunday's game against the Ravens with a concussion suffered on an illegal hit in last week's loss to the Redskins.
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Eagles coach Doug Pederson announced Friday that Sproles has been declared out for Sunday's matchup in Baltimore. Aside from sitting out the entire 2006 season with a broken ankle, Sproles has missed only seven of a possible 173 games since breaking into the NFL with the Chargers in 2005.
It's no surprise he'll be sidelined after taking a brutal shot from Washington's Deshazor Everett as he lined up a punt return last weekend. Everett told reporters this week that he was fined $24,000 for the hit — in addition to another $24,000 fine levied for a blindside block on Eagles tight end Brent Celek during a punt return. The Washington Post noted that Everett's weekly game check amounts to $30,882, so the fines will get his attention.
Everett told reporters he knows he's "not a dirty player" and explained the Sproles hit by saying it was a split-second decision.
"It’s a bang-bang play," Everett said, via the Post. "… I understand the fine behind it because I hit him before the ball got there and kind of hitting a defenseless player, but that’s the risk when you’re back there.
"You have options. You have ways to protect yourself. It’s not like the guy called fair catch, and I still took a shot at him because I’m not that type of player. I thought it was perfect timing, but it wasn’t. That shows you that football is a split-second game."
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Sproles, 33, has 366 rushing yards, the second-highest total in his 11 NFL seasons, to go with 400 receiving yards and 243 return yards.
Kenjon Barner is expected to handle Sproles' return duties, while Ryan Matthews figures to get a heavier workload in the backfield in the veteran's absence.
