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Eagles cut veteran receivers Randle, Givens

RUEBEN RANDLE and Chris Givens signed one-year, "prove-it" contracts with the Eagles this past offseason, and then didn't do that.

RUEBEN RANDLE and Chris Givens signed one-year, "prove-it" contracts with the Eagles this past offseason, and then didn't do that.

So when the team reconvenes Monday at NovaCare, down from 83 players to 73, Randle and Givens won't be there. They were released Sunday.

Going into training camp, Randle and Givens looked like possible starters, and certainly were penciled in for spots among the five or so wide receivers who ultimately will make the 53-man roster, but their efforts were underwhelming.

Along with veteran defensive tackle Mike Martin, they were the biggest surprises among Sunday's cuts. Martin was a standout all spring and got off to a strong start in camp, but has been out since Aug. 5 with a knee injury. In the interim, Beau Allen and Taylor Hart - two guys drafted by the previous regime, to play in a 3-4 setup - have proved they could handle playing 4-3 d-tackle. And both are bigger and younger than Martin, a third-round draft choice of the Titans in 2012. Plus, the defensive front is probably the Eagles' deepest unit.

Randle also was drafted in 2012, 63rd overall, in the second round, by the Giants, who let him walk into free agency last winter. They felt he wasn't dedicated. That was a giant, flashing red light, and sure enough, the Eagles came to have the same opinion. Randle caught five preseason passes for 26 yards. After a feeble effort in the preseason opener, Randle said his legs were tired from the training-camp grind.

Randle's fall is stunning, given that he caught 128 passes for 1,735 yards and 11 touchdowns the past two seasons. Big-bodied at 6-2, 208, he might have been affected by the acquisition of Dorial Green-Beckham.

Givens, yet another 2012 draftee (fourth round, 96th overall, by the Rams), was supposed to add difference-making speed. He had a nice 19-yard third-down catch Saturday night against the Colts, his only catch of the preseason.

Also released were veteran offensive lineman Andrew Gardner, safety Nick Perry, 2015 sixth-round corner Randall Evans, backup long snapper John DePalma and Denzel Rice, a corner who made the team last year and played in four games.

Gardner started 11 games for the Eagles over the past two seasons, but it was apparent the new regime didn't value him as highly as the previous one did. Gardner played no offensive snaps Saturday against the Colts, three on special teams.

The jettisoning of Givens and Randle increases the chances of fan favorite Paul Turner making the team. Turner is an undrafted rookie wideout from Louisiana Tech who is the Birds' leading preseason receiver, with 11 catches for 99 yards.

The Eagles have to be down to 53 players by Sept. 3. The remaining receivers are Turner, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Cayleb Jones, Jordan Matthews, Green-Beckham, Marcus Johnson and David Watford.

The team placed seventh-round rookie linebacker Joe Walker (knee) and seventh-round rookie defensive end Alex McCalister (calf) on injured reserve.

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog