Miles Sanders posts goodbye message to Philly after reaching deal with Carolina Panthers

PHILADELPHIA -- The Carolina Panthers have reached a four-year deal with running back Miles Sanders, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Sanders, 25, is coming off a career year for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time after racking up 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground for the 14-3 Eagles. He became the first Eagles running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season since LeSean McCoy in 2014.

"Since I was 7 years old, All I wanted was to play in the NFL. Philly made my dreams come true. Thank you for the unforgettable experience. Not looking forward to being a visitor at the linc, but can't wait to see y'all again," Sanders wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday night.

The Panthers had made re-signing D'Onta Foreman a priority prior to free agency, but with no agreement, they moved on to Sanders -- although bringing back Foreman has not been ruled out, a league source said.

Sanders ranks third among running backs in rushing average (5.1 yards per carry) since 2021 (minimum 250 attempts), behind only Tony Pollard (5.34) and Nick Chubb (5.25).

A second-round pick by the Eagles in the 2019 NFL draft, Sanders posted 3,708 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns over four seasons in Philadelphia. Limited by injuries during parts of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he appeared in 57 of a possible 66 regular-season games.

He competed collegiately at Penn State, where he played behind Saquon Barkley for two seasons. When Sanders got the lead role in 2018, he erupted for 1,413 scrimmage yards and nine TDs.

Also Wednesday, the Panthers agreed to terms with DeShawn Williams, the former Denver Broncos defensive tackle who started 15 games last season for D-coordinator Ejiro Evero, now the coordinator at Carolina who is putting in the same 3-4 scheme.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Tim McManus, David Newton and Adam Schefter contributed to this report.