When former mid-round pick Kenneth Gainwell opted to sign a free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, some fans of the Philadelphia Eagles hoped his replacement would be the former team’s leading rusher in Miles Sanders.
Miles Sanders At The Star
Tony Fisher
After Thursday night, though, that won’t be happening.
Sanders signed a one-year free agent contract with the rival Dallas Cowboys due to the chance to get significant playing time next season. If he were to go to the Eagles, he would be the immediate backup to Saquon Barkley.
Philadelphia also signed backup power running back AJ Dillon days prior to Sanders hitting the open market. Dillon missed all of the 2024 season with a neck injury but has been cleared to return this season.
He’ll be Barkley’s primary backup along with former mid-round pick from last April Will Shipley.
Sanders ran for over 3,700 yards in four seasons with the Eagles, including a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns during the 2022 season which had Philadelphia in the Super Bowl with one of the best rushing offenses in the game.
2022 may have been more of an outlier, though. After signing a contract with the Carolina Panthers, Sanders ran for a combined 600 yards in each of the last two seasons and was eventually replaced by Chubba Hubbard.
Now, the 27-year-old is looking to keep his career on track in the NFL. The only way to do that, though, is to find somewhere that he can get quality playing time.
And it won’t be with the Eagles. So maybe the Cowboys can provide that for him.
