With Jordan Matthews sidelined due to a left knee strain, Rueben Randle has stepped up to become one of the most reliable receiving targets in Eagles training camp.
Although Randle occasionally gets his signals crossed on the field, a problem he struggled with as a member of the New York Giants, the wideout has all of the physical tools to be a playmaker for Philadelphia on the outside.
Rueben Randle just leaped way over Randall Evans to snag a reception. No other #Eagles receiver could have made that play.
— Aaron Kasinitz (@AaronKazreports) August 8, 2016
With the first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the horizon, the Eagles practiced in full pads for the fifth time in six days on Monday. Absent from the NovaCare Complex were wide receiver Matthews (knee), left tackle Jason Peters (quad), safety Malcolm Jenkins (hamstring), linebacker Marcus Smith (concussion), running back Wendell Smallwood (quad), cornerback JaCorey Shepherd (hamstring) and defensive end Mike Martin (knee).
Nolan Carroll continued to solidify his place in the starting lineup on Monday. First, Carroll laid out rookie receiver Paul Turner on a route over the middle to force an incompletion. While the hit wasn’t during a "live" session, the heavy thud was considered legal as players continue to get a feel for what’s permitted at Doug Pederson’s physical training camp.
Nothing wrong with the Carroll hit. Perfectly clean, pad on pad. The kind of hit you would prefer to see in a training camp setting. #Eagles
— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardo975) August 8, 2016
Later, Carroll leaped to deflect a long pass attempt from Sam Bradford intended for Josh Huff, one of his two pass breakups during the 11-on-11 session.
For the first time in a while, Trey Burton didn’t catch a touchdown pass during practice, but the tight end was still able to create sufficient separation from defenders this morning. During team drills, Chase Daniel overthrew a wide open Burton streaking through the end zone. The Eagles defense has had difficulty containing the versatile tight end throughout training camp, and it’ll be intriguing to see whether Burton's success will carry over to the preseason games beginning on Thursday.
Despite the misfired pass in the end zone, Daniel completed over 80 percent of his passes on Monday morning. During a two-minute drill session, Daniel efficiently marched the second-team offense down the field for a score, capped by a short touchdown pass to rookie Cayleb Jones in the back of the end zone with Jalen Mills in coverage. Jones did an exceptional job tapping both feet down in bounds on the play.
Mychal Kendricks left the practice field this morning with a sore hamstring. Although the injury doesn’t appear critical, the linebacker missed multiple games with a hamstring injury last season.
The Eagles will have the day off tomorrow before a walk-through session on Wednesday morning.
Patrick Del Gaone is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Del_Gaone.
