Eagles Claim S Blake Countess
The Rams waived Blake Countess on Thursday but left the door open to a possible return. That will not happen, at least for the time being.
Countess will instead head east, with the Eagles submitting a successful waiver claim for the fourth-year safety, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This is interesting, considering the Eagles drafted him in the 2016 sixth round.
Deployed as a reserve safety during his time with the Rams, though he did make two starts over the past two years, the former Day 3 selection will attempt to make a better impression on Doug Pederson‘s staff.
Countess refused to take a pay cut, leading to his Los Angeles exit. It appears he was correct in assessing his value, with the the Eagles set to see if he can stick on their roster in his contract year. The Rams tendered Countess, an RFA, at the original-round level. He will bring a $2.025MM salary onto the Eagles’ payroll.
The Eagles cut Countess after the 2016 preseason, and the Jeff Fisher-led Rams added him to their practice squad. He received more playing time with Sean McVay‘s Rams, suiting up for all of Los Angeles’ 36 games (counting the playoffs) over the past two seasons. The Eagles did not use a draft choice on a safety but did add Andrew Sendejo this offseason. Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, the latter coming off a season-ending injury that induced a substantial pay cut, as their first-string safeties.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/19
Here are today’s minor moves, which feature several recognizable signal-callers:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: P Ryan Winslow
- Waived: K Cole Murphy
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Dejon Allen, Willie Beavers, WR Cyril Grayson
Denver Broncos
- Waived: QB Garrett Grayson, WR Chad Hansen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: NT Darius Kilgo
- Released: RB Kerwynn Williams
- Waived: OL Jarron Jones
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: LB Josh Carraway
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Jawill Davis
New York Jets
- Claimed: QB Luke Falk
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: S Delvon Randall (signed as UDFA with partially-guaranteed contract on May 1)
Rams To Release Blake Countess
The Rams will release defensive back Blake Countess, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Rams asked Countess to take a pay cut from his $2MM tender, but the two sides could not come to terms on a revised deal. Instead, he’ll hit the waiver wire.
The door remains open to a return, Rapoport hears, provided that Countess clears waivers. Still, it’s unlikely that the Rams will give him an offer that he’s enthused about. The Rams drafted two safeties this year in Washington’s Taylor Rapp (second round) and Penn State’s Nick Scott (seventh round), so there’s not necessarily a huge need for the veteran in Los Angeles.
Countess, 26 in August, has spent the last three seasons with the Rams and has appeared in every possible game over the last two years. For his career, he’s got four total starts, two interceptions, and one sack to his credit.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/1/19
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: G David Bright
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB D.J. Alexander
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: T Darrell Williams
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: CB Dee Delaney, QB Luke Falk, DE Jeremiah Valoaga
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: LB Asantay Brown, G Kaleb Johnson, CB Chandon Sullivan
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: S P.J. Locke (undrafted college free agent)
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: OL Marcus Henry
Rams Sign 19 Undrafted Free Agents
Two days after the draft’s conclusion, the Rams finalized their undrafted free agent list. Here are the 14 rookies that will comprise the defending NFC champions’ priority free agent contingent:
- Alex Bachman, WR (Wake Forest)
- Kendall Blanton, TE (Missouri)
- Chandler Brewer, G (Middle Tennessee)
- Romello Brooker, TE (Houston)
- Keenan Brown, TE (Texas State)
- Matthew Colburn, RB (Wake Forest)
- Marquise Copeland, DT (Cincinnati)
- Landis Durham, LB (Texas A&M)
- Brandon Hitner, G (Villanova)
- Vitas Hrynkiewicz, C (Youngstown State)
- Matt Kaskey, OL (Dartmouth)
- Johnathan Lloyd, WR (Duke)
- Natrez Patrick, LB (Georgia)
- Justice Powers, OL (UAB)
- Troy Reeder, LB (Delaware)
- Owen Roberts, DT (San Jose State)
- Justin Sumpter, WR (Kennesaw State)
- Tyrell Thompson, DT (Tarleton State)
- Nsimba Webster, WR (Eastern Washington)
The Rams did not use a draft choice on a tight end and have the same group they featured last season, one fronted by Tyler Higbee and 2018 second-rounder Gerald Everett. Third-year UDFA Johnny Mundt is also on Los Angeles’ roster at tight end. Neither Blanton nor Brooker exceeded 500 yards in their respective careers. Brown transferred to Texas State from Oklahoma State, and after being a bit part of the Cowboys’ passing attack, his 2018 numbers at the Sun Belt program — 51 receptions, 577 yards, five touchdown catches — were among the best of Division I-FBS tight ends last season.
Lloyd served as one of Daniel Jones’ top Blue Devils targets, going for 604 yards and five touchdown receptions last season. Sumpter led the Division I-FCS team in receiving in each of his final two seasons, posting 610 as a junior in 2017.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/29/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: C Kyle Friend
Denver Broncos
- Signed: K Taylor Bertolet (AAF)
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL Nico Siragusa, DB Jason Thompson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: C Tejan Koroma
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Jeremiah Kolone
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: WR Steven Dunbar, DB Godwin Igwebuike, CB Tarvarus McFadden, LB James Onwualu, WR Jordan Smallwood, P Justin Vogel, S Terrell Williams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- K Phillip Anderson, LB Riley Bullough, DE Hunter Dimick, P Hayden Hunt, DE Nick Thurman
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: NT Darius Kilgo
NFC Notes: Gurley, Panthers, Cowboys, Giants
Much has been made about Todd Gurley and his knee, which caused him issues in the 2018 postseason. The Rams didn’t do much to quiet those rumors when they tabbed Memphis running back Darrell Henderson with the No. 70 pick in the draft.
The team, however, is adamant the pick of Henderson has nothing to do with Gurley’s status, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams writes. Though the team did mention monitoring the perennial Pro Bowl back’s workload.
“Like we have said all along, we anticipate Todd being a huge part of this like he has been the last couple of years,” head coach Sean McVay said. “As far as managing the workload, those are things that we talk about with Todd and as you continue to get educated on, is that something that we should do for the long haul or something that is or isn’t going to affect Todd most importantly and how does that affect our team? But we added a really good playmaker was a big thing.”
Henderson was one of college football’s stars in 2018, rushing for 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns on just 214 carries. His 8.9 yards per rush was no fluke, as he posted the exact same average as a sophomore in 2017.
It will be interesting how the Rams handle their backfield in 2019. In addition to Gurley and Henderson, the team also matched an offer for running back Malcolm Brown.
Heres’ more from around the NFC:
- Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore has hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent him, per Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen (via Twitter). Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey will team up in repping the Maryland product, who posted 788 yards on 55 receptions in 2018.
- The Cowboys are expected to be extremely cautious with cornerback Byron Jones, who underwent offseason hip surgery, the Dallas Morning News’ Jon Machota tweets. Machota mentioned Jones, a breakout star in his first season as a cornerback, will be “highly managed,” but they do expect him to be ready for the start of the season.
- Sticking in Dallas, new slot receiver Randall Cobb said he signed with the team because he wanted to play on a contender, Machota writes. “Once I talked to everybody I knew this was the place,” Cobb said. “I definitely believe in this team. I felt like I wanted to be on a team that was a contender and I definitely believe that we have the ability, it’s just putting the pieces together.” Cobb replaces Cole Beasley in the slot, after the latter left for Buffalo early in the 2019 offseason.
- The Giants will bring back veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets. Though the team drafted three cornerbacks, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman left no doubt Jenkins would be back, saying, “Janoris has a bunch of puppies he has to train.”
Patriots Trade No. 134 To Rams
The Super Bowl champs have pulled off a trade with the team they defeated. ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry tweets that the Rams have acquired No. 134 and No. 243 from the Patriots. New England will receive No. 162 and No. 167.
The Rams used the pick to select Washington defensive tackle Greg Gaines. The 2018 Morris Trophy winner finished last season with career-highs in tackles (55) and sacks (3.5). The six-foot-two, 316-pound lineman should provide the Rams with a player who they can immediately insert in their defensive-line rotation.
Rams Move Up To Patriots’ No. 97 Slot
For the second time Friday night, the Super Bowl LIII opponents swapped picks. This time, the Rams made the move up.
The Patriots traded their No. 97 and No. 162 overall selections to the Rams for Nos. 101 and 133. With the new pick, the Rams took Oklahoma tackle Bobby Evans.
The defending NFC champions have now used three first-round picks, taking running back Darrell Henderson, cornerback David Long and now Evans. This follows their Taylor Rapp selection earlier Friday night.
Evans is the second Sooners offensive lineman to go off this year’s board, following second-rounder Cody Ford. These two followed Oklahoma stars Kyler Murray and Marquise Brown. Evans left after his junior year.
Rams Move Into Buccaneers’ No. 70 Slot
After multiple trade-down decisions, the Rams will move up early in the third round. They acquired the Buccaneers’ No. 70 overall pick in exchange for picks 94 and 99.
Entering this swap, the Rams held three third-rounders between 94 and 99. They still hold the No. 98 pick. Following Los Angeles’ Taylor Rapp second-round choice, the defending NFC champion selected Memphis running back Darrell Henderson.
At the American Athletic Conference school, Henderson shredded competition in averaging a Division I-FBS-record 8.2 yards per carry during his three college seasons. Last season, Henderson finished 10th in the Heisman voting after rushing for 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns. This also represents an interesting running back investment, considering how much the Rams are paying Todd Gurley.
Despite having Gurley entering the first year of his second Rams contract, the Rams did some work on this year’s running back prospects, Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic tweets. The Rams matched the Lions’ RFA offer sheet for Malcolm Brown but let C.J. Anderson join the Lions. Gurley’s knee issue, reported to be arthritis, will certainly be worth monitoring this offseason. And the Rams added some insurance in the mid-major prospect.