The Philadelphia Eagles released wide receivers Rueben Randle and Chris Givens on Sunday.
Randle caught eight touchdowns for the Giants in 2015 but was up and down during his time in New York, and did not generate a ton of demand in free agency. He ended up signing a one-year deal worth just over $1 million to join the Eagles in the hopes of proving that concerns about his approach to the game were based largely on misunderstandings.
"... I feel like I get read wrong because I do a lot of things naturally and it doesn’t seem like I’m giving much effort," he said recently. "If I go out there and make a one-handed catch and make it look effortless, I get praised for it, but if I do all these other things effortlessly, it’s like I’m not giving much effort. It’s just kind of one of those things, you just have to go out there and just make some plays and see how it goes from there."
Randle saw very little action with the first team in the Eagles' win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday as whispers grew that he might not be in the plans.
Givens, meanwhile, got the start against the Colts in what proved to be one final showcase. The fifth-year pro had some success when paired with Sam Bradford earlier in his career, catching 42 balls for 698 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, but has experienced a statistical decline in the seasons since.
The release of Randle and Givens improves the chances of Dorial Green-Beckham, Josh Huff and surprise rookie Paul Turner making the team.
The Eagles also released long snapper John DePalma, cornerback Randall Evans, offensive lineman Andrew Gardner, defensive tackle Mike Martin, safety Nick Perry and cornerback Denzel Rice while placing rookie defensive end Alex McCalister (calf) and linebacker Joe Walker (knee) on injured reserve.
The Eagles are now at the 75-player roster limit in front of Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline.
