Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles bring back a former draft pick for fourth stint

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Blake Countess is back.

For the fourth time.

The Eagles on Monday afternoon re-signed the veteran defensive back, originally their 6th-round pick in 2016.

The Eagles waived safety Obi Melifonwu with an injury designation. They had just signed Melifonwu 11 days ago.

Countess, who turned 28 on Sunday, has played in two games as an Eagle - he got eight special teams snaps last December against the Cards and six defensive snaps and 13 special teams snaps against Washington in the season finale in January.

The Eagles initially released Countess on final cut-down day in 2016 with the intention of re-signing him to the practice squad. But he signed instead with the Rams’ practice squad and wound up playing in 37 games with the Rams from 2016 through 2018, starting four. He had two interceptions and a sack.

The Rams released him in May of 2019, and the Eagles claimed him on waivers, only to release him in August. He signed with the Jets and played in six games, only on special teams. 

The Eagles signed Countess for a third time last December, initially to the practice and then the 53 for the last three weeks of the season. The Eagles signed him to a futures contract after the season, then released him in March.

In all, Countess has played in 45 games with four starts. He’s only played 64 defensive snaps since the end of the 2017 season.

Melifonwu, the Raiders’ 2nd-round pick in 2017, has played in seven career games with the Raiders and Patriots, but he hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2018.

The Eagles on Sunday listed him as day-to-day with a hamstring injury.

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