Rumor: Eagles adding 2016 third-round pick to their practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles will be adding free agent wide receiver Braxton Miller to their practice squad, according to Alex Gleitman of 247Sports.

As far as practice squad signings go, this is an intriguing one. Miller was selected by the Houston Texans with the No. 85 overall pick (third round) in the 2016 NFL Draft after playing four seasons at Ohio State.

Miller spent his first three seasons at quarterback for the Buckeyes. He finished fifth in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting and ninth in 2013. Miller suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to be a medical redshirt in 2014 before he ultimately changed positions to wide receiver in 2015.

In two seasons with the Texans, Miller appeared in 21 games (nine starts). He logged 34 receptions for 261 receiving yards (7.7 average), and two touchdowns. He also had four rushing attempts for one yard. Miller returned four punts for a total of 13 yards and three kickoffs for a total of 41 yards.

All of this is to say that Miller, who turns 26 years old in November, has struggled to produce at the NFL level. The Texans decided he wasn’t worth keeping around anymore so they waived him during final cuts last weekend.

So why are the Eagles taking a chance on him? Well, Miller is pretty athletic.

And the Eagles are pretty thin at wide receiver with both Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins missing time. Philadelphia currently has only five healthy receivers on the 53-man roster: Nelson Agholor, Mike Wallace, DeAndre Carter, Shelton Gibson, and Markus Wheaton.

Another reason why this report makes sense is that the Eagles waived the two receivers they were storing on their practice squad — Rashard Davis and Greg Ward Jr. — on Friday afternoon. They have two vacant spots on the scout team and it looks like Miller will be filling one.