The Rams had to match an offer sheet from the Lions to hold onto restricted free agent running back Malcolm Brown, but no such machinations were necessary to hold onto defensive back Blake Countess.
The team announced on Monday that Countess has signed his tender. He’ll make $2.025 million for the 2019 season and the move leaves linebacker Cory Littleton and cornerback Troy Hill as the team’s unsigned restricted free agents.
Countess makes his biggest contributions on special teams. He’s recovered blocked punts for touchdowns in each of the last two seasons and returned 17 kickoffs for the NFC champs last season. Countess also has two career interceptions while seeing action on the defensive side of the ball.
In addition to the Countess announcement, the Rams also announced that defensive end Morgan Fox, defensive back Dominique Hatfield, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, returner JoJo Natson, and defensive back Kevin Peterson have signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders.
