Ex-Dallas Cowboys RB Joseph Randle's rape case has been put on pause ... TMZ Sports has learned a Kansas court is ordering him to take a mental health evaluation to determine if he's fit to be tried.
Randle is accused of raping a woman for hours last September in Sedgwick County, Kansas ... and he's been fighting 11 serious charges in court ever since.
But, the attorneys for Randle -- who's been in and out of jail and mental health facilities for the past few years -- have argued the former NFL player is not in the right state of mind to defend himself.