Eagles waive Brian Rolle

For the second straight Tuesday, the Eagles addressed their subpar special teams by releasing a player whose roster spot appeared safe not all that long ago.

Last week, it was punter Chas Henry. This week, the Eagles waived linebacker Brian Rolle, who was the starting weakside linebacker just a little more than a month ago.

Rolle's role had shifted to special teams after he was demoted. After the Eagles kick-return cover team was gashed by the New York Giants on Sunday, somebody presumably had to pay.

"It is what it is," Rolle said during a phone interview. "I appreciate the opportunity. I don't have anything bad to say about the team. But I think I got stuck in a bad situation. They were talking about improving special teams. Kickoffs weren't good. It could be more than that."

Rolle said he was awakened by a call from coach Andy Reid informing him that he had been released. Two days earlier, the Eagles had allowed the Giants' David Wilson to return six kicks for an average of 36.2 yards.

It took a group effort (or lack thereof) to allow those returns, but Rolle completely missed on one tackle attempt Sunday and had yet to stand out on any of the special-teams units. The Eagles credited him with one special-teams tackle in four games.

Last season as a rookie, Rolle started in the final 13 games when he took over for the struggling Casey Matthews. He showed some playmaking ability and finished the season with 63 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that he returned for a touchdown against the Bears.

Rolle, drafted in the sixth round last year, held onto his starting spot when training camp opened in July. But he lost the job to Akeem Jordan after the third preseason game as his play seemingly regressed.

Jordan strained his hamstring, and Rolle jumped in against the Cardinals. But he did little in relief. When Jordan was ruled out for the Giants game, the Eagles gave Jamar Chaney the start over Rolle.

"I was a starter, and then I was moved to special teams, something I wasn't used to," Rolle said. "I felt like I was productive on defense. I know our defense in and out. If someone asked, I could write the entire playbook out."

But the Eagles need their reserve linebackers to produce on special teams. Adrian Moten, signed to take Rolle's place on the 53-man roster, will be asked to contribute to Bobby April's units right away.

April's special teams are near the bottom of the league in every statistical category, averaging only 19.1 yards a kick return (31st in the NFL) and five yards a punt return (31st). They're also allowing 30.5 yards per kick return (29th) and 11.4 yards per punt return (24th).

The Eagles first signed Moten on Aug. 9 after they traded linebackers Moise Fokou and Greg Lloyd to the Colts. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker played 10 games for the Colts last season and two games for the Seahawks as an undrafted rookie. He recorded seven total tackles, all with the Colts.

"I showed I can play a lot of special teams," Moten said to philadelphiaeagles.com. "They can put me anywhere on special teams and I can learn it. And if not, if I don't know it, I'm going to learn it and get it down."

The Eagles also released long snapper Kyle Nelson from the practice squad and re-signed offensive linemen Julian Vandervelde on Tuesday.

Vandervelde, a 2011 fifth-round pick, was cut by the Eagles just before the season. The Buccaneers signed him to their 53-man roster and then demoted him to their practice squad before releasing him on Sept. 27.