ASU Football: Former Devil Damarious Randall Release Surprising
Several former Arizona State football players were released this weekend when teams finalized their 53-man active rosters. The most surprising Sun Devil alum to be cut was safety Damarious Randall, who was released on Friday by the Las Vegas Raiders. So let’s dive into who forced Randall out of a roster spot, and who his possible suitors may be for the 2020 NFL season.
The move was unexpected, to say the least, as it comes after signing him to a 1-year, $1.5 million fully-guaranteed deal in April, with Randall expected to be one of the starting safeties opposite Jonathon Abram. The Raiders opted to keep Erik Harris, Jeff Heath and Dallin Leavitt over the five-year NFL veteran.
In regards to NFL production, the former 1st round pick out of ASU dominates the competition. Let’s look at the stats. Randall has 289 tackles, 47 pass deflections and 14 interceptions in his 5-year career. Heath, who also signed with Las Vegas this offseason, has 344 tackles and 8 interceptions in his seven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
Harris has played in 47 games for the Raiders over the past three seasons, totaling 128 tackles and 5 interceptions. While Leavitt is primarily a special teams player, only having 11 tackles in 17 career games.
The Raiders are trying to stay young in the secondary, which makes the release of the 28-year-old Randall even more confusing, considering he’s younger than Heath, who’s 29, and Harris, who’s 30. According to reports, Harris’ play ultimately pushed Randall out of a roster spot.
Randall was the 30th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he spent three seasons playing at cornerback and safety. He made his presence felt in the passing game snagging 10 interceptions while returning two of them for touchdowns. He was then traded to the Cleveland Browns in the offseason of 2018 for Deshon Kizer. Randall started all 26 games he appeared in with Cleveland during his two-year stint, but struggled in 2019 in a secondary that received tons of hype in the offseason, but didn’t perform to the standards.
There are still plenty of teams that are actively seeking safety help, where Randall’s name may come into play. The Dallas Cowboys have been looking for safety help after cutting veteran Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The Baltimore Ravens also just released former pro-bowler Earl Thomas, while the Jacksonville Jaguars may also be on the market for help in the secondary after trading Ronnie Harrison to the Browns.
Whether Randall will find a job before the 2020 season kicks off on Thursday remains to be seen. Either way, with the amount of injuries that occur throughout the year, expect the former Sun Devil to find a home at some point in the daunting NFL season.