Can Rueben Randle shed 'loafer' tag with Eagles?
It was an interception at the worst time possible. Eli Manning threw the pass. Rueben Randle was supposed to catch it. The ball was placed slightly behind Randle, but he could have caught it had he run a precise route.
It was an interception at the worst time possible. Eli Manning threw the pass. Rueben Randle was supposed to catch it. The ball was placed slightly behind Randle, but he could have caught it had he run a precise route.
The Eagles had a similar play last season when Mark Sanchez threw an ill-advised pass to the lazy-route running Miles Austin and the ball was picked off in the end zone. Austin was released a week later.
Randle's dubious moment occurred around the same time, but survived until the end of the season. During the offseason, however, the New York Giants elected not to retain their 2012 second-round draft pick and he inconspicuously became a free agent.
He's an Eagle now and Doug Pederson has heaped praise on Randle, but 25-year-old receivers who caught nearly 1,000 yards in passes just two years ago and are coming off eight-touchdown seasons don't last two weeks into free agency unless they're carrying some kind of baggage.
Randle, when initially asked to explain why his tenure with the Giants lasted only four years, said it was "an unfortunate situation" - unfortunate because "of a miscommunication."
"I guess they didn't like some things, or my demeanor or things like that," Randle said Tuesday. "I just judged wrong, read wrong, and I've got to be better about it, and learn from my mistakes in the past and try to move forward here."
Simply put, the Giants thought Randle was a loafer and was indifferent about football. He ran poor routes. He was late for meetings. So they benched him a few times. He had obvious talent. His catches and receiving yards increased in each of his first three seasons. But he regressed last season and a new coaching staff decided it was time to part ways.
"It kind of felt like I was out of it sometimes," Randle said when asked to explain why the Giants didn't like his behavior. "I'm just a laid-back guy, doesn't mean that I'm out of it or things like that. . . . It was just read wrong."
Who read it wrong? Former coach Tom Coughlin? Manning?
"Everyone, mainly," Randle said. "Not really one particular person in general. It's one of those things you learn from, and I'm not going to make a big deal about it. It's part of this business. I'm a grown man, I can take it."
The NFL is loaded with underperformers trying to make the most of second chances. Few do. But some take the opportunity and run. It cost the Eagles $500,000 in guaranteed money to find out if Randle is one of the anomalies. His one-year contract is potentially worth $3 million if he hits incentives.
Pederson would likely settle for having a capable third option at receiver. After Jordan Matthews, there are many question marks. Nelson Agholor, the Eagles' first-round pick in 2015, will get his opportunities, but the Eagles need a consistent outside receiver if Matthews is to once again line up primarily in the slot.
Asked to name the most likely candidates to fill that role, Pederson mentioned the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Randle first.
"Rueben Randle has really made an impact this spring," Pederson said Tuesday, adding: "He's a guy that's a big, tall, sort of a smooth receiver that understands what we're asking him to do."
Randle's last two seasons in New York were spent playing in a West Coast offense. He caught a career-high 71 passes for 938 yards and three touchdowns in 2014, and 57 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns in 2015. Not everything about Pederson's version of the scheme is the same, but there are similarities in both terminology and concept, according to Randle.
Randle and fellow free-agent addition Chris Givens are Eagles neophytes, but Matthews, Agholor and Josh Huff are also starting from ground zero in terms of the offense.
"Everything is up for grabs right now," Randle said. "It's up to us to go out there and prove ourselves as players."
Randle's shot at validation hit a snag about two weeks ago when he felt an ache near his stomach. He said he thought it was just a virus, but after three days of persistent pain he went to the emergency room, had an ultrasound and found out that his gallbladder was inflamed. He had surgery that day to have the small, non-essential organ removed.
"This was kind of nerve-racking," Randle said. "This was actually my first time ever having to go to the hospital. Things happen. Luckily it happened now instead of the season."
He missed only two weeks of organized team activities and said he should be 100 percent healthy by training camp next month. Randle hasn't missed a game dating back to high school when he was one of the most sought-after recruits in Louisiana history.
He left LSU after three seasons and after a year together with Odell Beckham Jr. The two receivers reunited two years later when the Giants selected the latter in the first round. Beckham surpassed his teammate as a rookie and his vault to near the top of NFL receivers contributed to Randle's end in New York.
Randle won't have top billing in Philadelphia, either, but there are other spots on the marquee if he maximizes his potential.
"I'm just trying to take full advantage of my opportunity, whether it be No. 1, 2 or 3 [receiver]," Randle said. "It don't matter, I just want to go out and make plays and help the team win."
@Jeff_McLane