The Darren Sproles Fiasco Turns Ugly

Nov 17, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton with running back Darren Sproles (43) prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Darren Sproles fiasco has officially turned ugly.

Rewind to Friday. Originally, Sproles found out that he was to be released because the team reportedly did not find a suitor for him via a trade. Sproles would later tweet his appreciation for New Orleans on Saturday, which confirmed to a lot of us that he was indeed released.

"Thank you New Orleans for your support over the past 3 years! I will always be forever grateful. #WhoDat— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 8, 2014Since it was  the weekend, there was no way to have the move reflected in the NFL Transaction Report. Enter Monday, and we still never see a release of Darren Sproles on the Transaction Report. Suddenly, our thoughts shifted to ‘what in the world is going on?’As per Tuesday’s ‘Free Agency Frenzy’, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was one of a few insiders that reported that the team had many suitors for a trade option, and that the team would not release Sproles, but would be traded.Needless to say, Sproles wasn’t traded yesterday, and from these latest developments, Sproles was shocked to find out the news, responding directly to Schefter’s tweet stating, ‘WOW!’, promptly followed by:The stuff u find out on twitter— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 11, 2014As of this morning, Saints running back Darren Sproles told ESPN’s Josina Anderson:I want to get released. I don’t want to be traded. I don’t know where they would send me because I have no control over it. The good thing is none of the teams I’m told they’re talking to are terrible.Many are automatically pointing the finger at the Saints front office for the poor handling of this, and while that is one logical conclusion, I have to ask, doesn’t that also fall under the responsibility of a sports agent to update his player on what’s going on?Finding out via a third-party can’t be fun, and we definitely can’t say that this is how things should end in New Orleans for Darren Sproles. Perhaps there’s more to this story that we aren’t hearing.Some of the heavier rumors have the Baltimore Ravens as a potential landing spot for Sproles. Should that pan out, just remember that the Saints host the Ravens this season.Like Who Dat Dish? Follow us on FacebookFollow @whodatdishFollow me on Twitter for more NFL Analysis & News!Follow @johnjhendrix  Thank you New Orleans for your support over the past 3 years! I will always be forever grateful. #WhoDat— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 8, 2014The stuff u find out on twitter— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 11, 2014As of this morning, Saints running back Darren Sproles told ESPN’s Josina Anderson:I want to get released. I don’t want to be traded. I don’t know where they would send me because I have no control over it. The good thing is none of the teams I’m told they’re talking to are terrible.Many are automatically pointing the finger at the Saints front office for the poor handling of this, and while that is one logical conclusion, I have to ask, doesn’t that also fall under the responsibility of a sports agent to update his player on what’s going on?Finding out via a third-party can’t be fun, and we definitely can’t say that this is how things should end in New Orleans for Darren Sproles. Perhaps there’s more to this story that we aren’t hearing.Some of the heavier rumors have the Baltimore Ravens as a potential landing spot for Sproles. Should that pan out, just remember that the Saints host the Ravens this season.Like Who Dat Dish? Follow us on FacebookFollow @whodatdishFollow me on Twitter for more NFL Analysis & News!Follow @johnjhendrix  The stuff u find out on twitter— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 11, 2014I want to get released. I don’t want to be traded. I don’t know where they would send me because I have no control over it. The good thing is none of the teams I’m told they’re talking to are terrible."