VIDEO: Remembering When a Washington Player Took a Disgusting Cheap Shot on Darren Sproles

No one likes to see cheap shots to the head anymore, and a 2016 hit on Darren Sproles shows exactly why.

On December 11, 2016, Washington and Philadelphia were locked in a close game. Darren Sproles went back to return a punt from Washington's Tres Way. But before he even had the ball, Deshazor Everett decided to launch himself at the defenseless Sproles.

Sproles took a huge hit to the head and had to be helped off the field. Everett was immediately flagged for the play and later received a $48,000 fine for that hit and an illegal blindside block he made on the day. Sproles' teammates immediately leaped to his defense and started scuffling with their opponents before the referees managed to stop a full fight from breaking out.

While Sproles didn't signal for a fair catch and there was some room for Everett to make a legitimate tackle, it's never legal to hit the return man before they touch the ball. It was a split-second decision, but ultimately it left little room for fans and the referees to judge. Sproles was unable to return to the field, robbing the Eagles of one of their top offensive weapons.

In the end, Washington won the NFC East matchup 27-22, although Philadelphia players remained furious in the days afterward. Both Zach Ertz and Jason Peters condemned the play in post-game interviews. Sproles would miss the Eagles' next game, a close loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Everett is still in the league with Washington while Sproles retired in 2019 and has become an executive with the Eagles.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.