Darren Sproles took the practice field once again Thursday in a limited role coming off of his hamstring injury.
When speaking to reporters in the locker room, he was asked if he is going to play on Monday against Washington. Sproles' answer was simple and exciting for Eagles fans to hear.
"That's the plan," Sproles said.
If Sproles returns, it will be his first game since Week 1 of the regular season when he had 32 yards from scrimmage including a crucial third-down conversion late in the game. He said he does not know the role he'd play in the offense but can't wait to contribute.
"I felt good out there," Sproles said. "You know, it's tough. But you just have to keep on grinding. You can't ever quit."
It's unclear how much Sproles will do on Monday if he does play. Luckily, there isn't a lot of pressure as the Eagles are coming off a game in which the running backs combined for 129 rushing yards and dominated on the ground in the second half. Rookie Josh Adams became the lead back and had 84 of those yards and a touchdown.
Adams told reporters Wednesday that he watched Sproles growing up and his veteran influence has been special. Sproles smiled when asked about how Adams has done.
"The thing is, the backs we have right now, they're doing a great job," Sproles said. "Josh has been looking real good. He's been looking real good. Great vision. He's really been doing a great job."
The Eagles initially eyed a return for Sproles in the Week 10 against the Cowboys following the bye week. But after one practice, Sproles suffered another hamstring injury and was unable to play. Sproles said he wouldn't go in depth about it, but this was an "more than a simple hamstring" injury.
After missing most of last year with an ACL tear, most of this season with the hamstring, and dealing with being close but not close enough, Sproles said it was the most frustrating injury of his career.
"You work so hard to get back from one thing and something else happens. It was tough," Sproles said. "Because you think you're good to go and then you go out there and try to burst or something and you can't make it work."
But the hard part seems to be over for the 35-year-old who ranks sixth in NFL history in career all-purpose yards, 457 behind Tim Brown for fifth. And as the Eagles continue a crucial stretch of games, his return could be a big boost.
"I'm happy for him because I know he's been chomping at the bit to get out there," said defensive end Brandon Graham with a smile. "We've been needing him all year. We need everybody. That's just one guy that's hopefully going to give us some explosive plays."
Through a difficult and strenuous rehab process, that kind of positivity was key for Sproles to power through.
"It was just my teammates and my family," Sproles said. "They were helping to keep me positive."
