The Brees & Payton Era- Modern Era Icon
- Fan Favorite & Franchise Great
Darren Sproles
- Position
- RBRunning Back
- Number
- #43
- Saints years
- 2011–2013
- NFL career
- 2005–2019
- Era
- The Brees & Payton Era
- Franchise
- New Orleans Saints
Honors
- NFL single-season all-purpose yards record
Also played for San Diego Chargers (2005–2010), Philadelphia Eagles (2014–2019).
Why he’s a legend
The legacy
Darren Sproles played only three seasons for the Saints, and in the first of them he gained 2,696 all-purpose yards — more than any player in NFL history has managed in a single season. At 5-foot-6 he was the perfect piece for the offense Sean Payton was running, a back who could be split wide, motioned into the slot, or handed the ball, and defenses had no answer that worked in all three cases.
Why he matters
- His 2,696 all-purpose yards in 2011 are the NFL single-season record.
- He caught 86 passes in 2011, then a record for a running back.
- He was the versatility piece on the 2011 Saints, who set the NFL record for total offense in a season.
- His three New Orleans seasons are among the highest-value short tenures in franchise history.
Defining moment
Two thousand six hundred and ninety-six
2011 season
Rushing, receiving, punt returns and kickoff returns added to 2,696 yards in 2011 — past Derrick Mason’s 2000 record — on an offense that also broke the league record for total yards. Sproles was signed that summer as a complementary back.
Career statistics
Current through the 2019 season
With the Saints
- All-Purpose Yards, 2011
- 2,696The NFL single-season record.
- Seasons
- 3
Where he ranks
- #1NFL Single-Season All-Purpose Yards2,696 (2011)NFL all-time
Honors & accolades
Selections & records
- NFL single-season all-purpose yards record2,696 in 2011
Career timeline
15 seasons in the NFL, 3 of them in New Orleans.
- 2005San Diego Chargers
- 2006San Diego Chargers
- 2007San Diego Chargers
- 2008San Diego Chargers
- 2009San Diego Chargers
- 2010San Diego Chargers
- 2011New Orleans SaintsSigns as a free agent from San DiegoNFL record 2,696 all-purpose yards
- 2012New Orleans Saints
- 2013New Orleans Saints
- 2014Philadelphia EaglesTraded to Philadelphia
- 2015Philadelphia Eagles
- 2016Philadelphia Eagles
- 2017Philadelphia Eagles
- 2018Philadelphia Eagles
- 2019Philadelphia Eagles
Era context
What the league looked like while Darren Sproles played it. Raw totals across eras are not like-for-like.
The Brees & Payton Era
2006–2020
A quarterback nobody else wanted, a coach nobody had hired, and a Super Bowl.
- The most pass-friendly rules environment in NFL history to that point; raw passing totals from these years dwarf every earlier era.
- Sixteen-game seasons throughout, with a 12-team playoff field from 2020.
- The franchise won seven division titles in this span, including four consecutive from 2017 to 2020.
Data & sources
Statistics on this profile are current through the 2019 season.
- A three-season tenure. He is included for the record set in it, not for career volume with the Saints.
