Can the Eagles find a way to use Sproles more often?

Darren Sproles' longest rush and reception of 2014 came in the first and second games of the season, respectively. In Week 4, he fielded a deep punt against the 49ers and scooted 82 yards for a touchdown.

It was arguably the most explosive debut ever for an offseason Eagles acquisition and seemed to only hint at the various ways Chip Kelly would employ Sproles and exploit defenses once the multipurpose player became fully ingrained in the offense.

But the Sproles of the first half of the season was different from the second-half version. Defensive coordinators caught on to the few pass packages Kelly had designed for the running back, and even though Sproles averaged more yards per snap than any other skill-position player, his playing time never reflected the production.

By Week 10, after the Panthers punted to Sproles in the middle of the field and he zoomed 65 yards for his second touchdown return of the season, teams did whatever they could to kick away from him.

"It was frustrating," Sproles conceded, "but you really just got to deal with it."

Kelly admitted in March that he could have done a better job of utilizing Sproles, who came in a trade with the Saints a year earlier. "We need to get him on the field more," the Eagles coach said. But will that be possible after the Eagles signed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, two free agents who have spent most of their careers as No. 1 running backs?

"They told me that my role wouldn't change," Sproles said last week.

During practice Thursday, Sproles was sprinkled in with the first-, second-, and third-team offenses during team and seven-on-seven drills. A year ago, he worked primarily with the second unit during the spring and training camp, behind starting running back LeSean McCoy.

Sproles was second on the team in carries (57) to McCoy (312) during the season, but after McCoy was traded to the Bills and Murray and Mathews were brought in, Kelly spoke of more evenly distributing the workload.

Performance would seem to be the ultimate decider in how Kelly doles out playing time. But Sproles averaged 2.1 yards per snap to McCoy's 1.9, 5.8 yards per rush to McCoy's 4.2, and 9.7 yards per catch to McCoy's 5.5 last season.

The suggestion isn't that Sproles should have been the primary running back. He never filled that role during his best seasons with the Chargers and Saints. But those teams did manage to give him more chances. Sproles was on the field 42 percent of the time during his five seasons before joining the Eagles. Last year that number dropped to 31 percent.

"It's just acclimation," Kelly said in March. "Also for us, and especially early in the year, he was our only other running back, so kind of moving him around and putting him in different spots, you're kind of holding your breath."

In his first seven games (he sat out Week 7 with an ankle sprain), Sproles rushed 35 times for 228 yards (6.5 average) for three touchdowns, caught 20 passes for 244 yards (12.2), and averaged 15.4 yards on 20 punt returns.

In his final eight games, he rushed 22 times for 101 yards (4.6) and three scores, caught 20 passes for 143 yards (7.2), and averaged 10.5 yards on 19 returns.

While Sproles' drop in carries and rushing production may have had as much to do with McCoy's second-half turnaround as anything, there appeared to be one overriding reason he couldn't get much going through the air.

When Sproles took the field and a pass play was called, defenses seemed to know exactly where the ball was going. So the inside slant he took for 57 yards in Week 2 against the Colts and the various misdirection screens on which he gained yards in the first half of the year were often snuffed out.

"When I was in the game the coverages were totally different than when Shady was in the game," Sproles said. "To get the play call that we wanted, to get me one-on-one, they wouldn't let me have that. They were bringing down the safety to stop the inside cut and they were keeping the linebacker outside [to stop screens]."

According to Kelly, Sproles has the opportunity to be featured more in the passing game. He caught 40 passes last season, a high number considering his playing time, but he averaged 67 receptions over his previous five seasons.

Sproles said that he's had "conversations" with Kelly about this, and that implementing more packages with him in the passing game had already begun.

He'll be 32 next month, and despite his diminutive frame (5-foot-6, 190 pounds), Sproles doesn't appear to be slowing down. He has two years left on his contract, but he also knows that doesn't guarantee stability.

Sproles said he was initially "shocked" when he heard that McCoy had been dealt. But he was traded, too - for a fifth-round pick, no less - and said he understands the business part of playing professionally.

In many ways, it's remarkable he's entering his 11th season. Sproles was nearly overlooked by every NFL team when he entered the draft out of Kansas State.

"When I was coming out, I just kept saying to myself that all I needed was one team to like me," Sproles said. "Just give me one team."

Can the Eagles find ways to give him more touches?

@Jeff_McLane