Former Penn State running back Miles Sanders’ first NFL offseason off to a slow start

It’s only the offseason, but former Penn State running back Miles Sanders has yet to really get started on his NFL career.

Two months ago, Happy Valley was celebrating a big moment for one of their own. As former Penn State running back Miles Sanders awaited a call from a team during the second night of the 2019 NFL Draft; he was excited to see a Philadelphia-based area code on his caller ID. Come to find out, Sanders would only have to move a few hours away to continue his football career.

As a second-round draft pick, Sanders was entering the Philadelphia Eagles locker room with high expectations surrounding him. He was able to show out and impress during the teams’ rookie minicamp last month, but since then he’s suffered some sort of setback, which has his NFL career off to quite a slow start. According to Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson, Sanders is dealing with a hamstring issue, and he’s been sidelined for the past three weeks.

A few weeks back when Sanders’ injury was just one big mystery, it was confirmed that he wasn’t dealing with anything major. However, as the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp program started up on Tuesday, the organization would confirm that Sanders wouldn’t be much more than a spectator. Further confirming he would miss the entire camp, which goes on for the next three days.

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Although it’s just the offseason for Sanders and the Eagles, it’s still an unfortunate scenario. Being that Sanders only has one year’s worth of being a starter under his belt with the Lions, it’s regrettable he can’t showcase his assets right now with veteran players in the mix. Plus, each offseason rep is much more critical than many make it seem — especially for rookies.

Just a few weeks ago, Nittany Lions’ head coach James Franklin attended a practice in Philadelphia to check out some of his former players. Clearly, he didn’t get to see Sanders in action, but he joked that they only used Sanders for one season as a starter at PSU because they were saving the wear and tear for the Eagles. Though that factor did play an essential role for Philly during the drafting process, it’s undoubtedly a lousy scenario for Sanders since he got injured so early on.

Will he be ready for training camp late next month? The Eagles won’t confirm just yet. Since hamstring injuries tend to be unpredictable, the team is going to have to play it by ear for when the time comes. Barring any setbacks, Sanders should be alright for the start of his young NFL career, but so far his journey has hit a bit of a rough patch early on.