So much for the Rueben Randle experience. After just one preseason game, the wide receiver's days with the Chicago Bears appear to be over. He was placed on injured reserve, ending his season before it could even get started. There won't be much competition in terms of who will be taking his place on the roster, however -- that decision has already been made -- with a special teams bust making his way north to redeem his career.
Bears make roster move
Randle's move to the IR was first reported by ESPN's Field Yates on Sunday afternoon. The veteran was competing for a chance to make the roster, but he was clearly down on the team's totem pole, so the odds were against him.
He failed to do anything to impress during the Bears' preseason opener, setting him back even further in his race for a roster spot. It's not really clear, however, when Randle suffered the hamstring injury that resulted in the end of his season.
To replace Randle, the Bears are bringing in kicker Roberto Aguayo. He was just waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, so it didn't take long for him to get another shot. Aguayo is considered one of the biggest busts in recent history after the Bucs decided to draft him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft -- much earlier than kickers are usually selected. He'll compete with another former Tampa Bay kicker, Connor Barth, for the starting role this season.
Randle running on fumes
For Randle, there's at least a chance that this is the end of the line, especially depending on how bad the hamstring injury is. He was once a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants, but failed to ever truly break out with the team. He failed to even make the Philadelphia Eagles roster after signing a one-year deal with them in the 2016 offseason.
Chicago signed him to a reserve/future contract at the end of last season.
Randle was targeted twice during Thursday night's preseason opener against the Denver Broncos. He grabbed 18 yards as a result of catching both of those passes. He didn't show anything particularly impressive with those two catches, though. He was still going to be stuck behind other receivers like Kevin White, Cameron Meredith, Victor Cruz, and even Josh Bellamy -- none of them including the injured Markus Wheaton. Since his chances of making the roster were slim anyway, the Bears saw an opportunity with Randle's injury to make his presence a non-issue moving forward.
