Miles Sanders: To be Philadelphia Eagles' main running back is 'a blessing to me', and his lofty goals for 2020 season

If Miles Sanders is feeling any pressure to be the Eagles' main running back this season, he hasn't shown it. 

That's because Sanders sees himself as the main running back every year, whether he is or not.

"That’s a blessing to me, honestly," Sanders said in a Zoom conference call Sunday about his role heading into the 2020 season. "I’m just excited to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether it’s on the ground or in the air.

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"With (my role) being solidified, I’m just making sure I’m coming back stronger, faster, smarter. Just so I can be able to do both – run the ball effectively and strong, and just be effective in the passing game with speed and stuff, and be great with my hands."

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Last season, Sanders was a rookie on a team that had veterans Jordan Howard and Darren Sproles. While head coach Doug Pederson said then that Sanders, the Eagles' second-round pick out of Penn State, would get his chances, Sanders knew he'd have to share the load.

Everyone saw how that turned out.

Both Sproles and Howard were injured by the midway point of the season, and Sanders became the featured back the rest of the way. He led all NFL rookies in yards from scrimmage with 1,327, including 818 yards rushing. 

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So much more is expected this season, something running backs coach Duce Staley made clear last week.

"I’m excited about Miles handling the full load," Staley said. "I don’t see Miles as a guy that you have to monitor his touches – 15 here, maybe 15 rushes, five passes.

"No, I don’t see him that way. I think you put him and you let him go."

When asked why, Staley responded: 

"He’s one of the guys it’s hard to get a hit on. I think you have to be careful with the guys that can’t make people miss. So you put a big workload on those types of guys (who can make opponents miss).

"This is a violent league, and injuries can happen at any time. But if you have a guy who can make people miss, and is kind of special like Miles, the injury goes down a little bit, the percentage goes down."

Just to prove how much the Eagles are relying on Sanders, they didn't sign a veteran free agent during the offseason. They returned Sanders and Boston Scott, who was on the practice squad until getting a chance late in the season.

They also re-signed Corey Clement, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and didn't have any carries, and added two undrafted free agents in Adrian Killins and Mike Warren. They also have Elijah Holyfield, who didn't play last season.

"It’s making us mature faster, growing up faster just knowing really that we’re the only two backs that played last year," Sanders said about him and Scott. "And now we have younger guys in the room, plus Corey ... Just us knowing we’re together and we’re the older guys, so having to be more vocal. Just making sure we know what we’re doing, setting examples, and being those role models."

Sanders also had high praise for Clement, the South Jersey native who had 100 yards receiving in the Eagles' Super Bowl victory in 2017 before having his next two seasons shortened by injury.

"Corey looks great," Sanders said. "He looks explosive. He looks like Super Bowl Corey to me." 

But if the Eagles get that far again, it will likely be because of Sanders' play. And he said there's plenty of room for improvement after watching video of his play last season.

"I probably left almost 200 or 300 yards on the field," Sanders said.

So Sanders worked during the offseason on getting stronger overall so he could better break tackles. And Sanders said he's plenty motivated after not being named the NFL's rookie of the year in 2019.

That went to Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Others in the running were the Raiders' Josh Jacobs, who had more yards rushing than Sanders (1,150 to 818) but fewer overall (1,316 to 1,327).

"I definitely wanted rookie of the year, definitely thought I could have been in the conversation for rookie of the year," Sanders said. "But that just puts a bigger chip on my shoulder. I don’t really think about it too much no more; that’s last year. I just play with a big chip on my shoulder and will use to motivate myself to keep grinding."

Sanders will get plenty of chances.

Eagles get LB, lose another

Linebacker Nate Gerry was activated off the NFL's Reserve/COVID-19 list on Sunday, hours before the team placed Jatavis Brown on the retired list.

Brown, signed in the offseason as a free agent, had spent his first four seasons with the Chargers before signing a one-year deal with the Eagles in March. He was expected to provide depth while contributing on special teams.

It's not known why Brown is retiring. He did not opt out before the deadline this past Thursday. 

Gerry was one of three players to either test positive or be exposed to someone who has when veteran players began reporting to training camp July 28. The other two are right tackle Lane Johnson and backup tackle Jordan Mailata. Both are still on the list.

Pederson is also still out after he tested positive last Sunday night, although he has been running team meetings by video conference.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.