Philadelphia Eagles roster watch: 3 Things on Blake Countess

After taking some time to deliberate on the Philadelphia Eagles’ signing of safety Blake Countess, here are three of the twenty or so things that have been on quite a few minds.

This is the time of year where things can get cloudy and guys and news can get lost in a bit of a shuffle. The Philadelphia Eagles claimed safety Blake Countess of off waivers on Friday, May 3rd, but for whatever reason, that was a move that went slightly undetected by casual fans.

It didn’t even cause a blip on some radars.

Here, at ITI, things were a little different. With a loaded roster already, any addition Philly makes sparks interest. They aren’t bringing guys in for no reason. They’re trying to create competition, find some pieces, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll find a few surprises along the way.

Here are three things on the Eagles’ newest addition at safety.

1. This is his second stint in Philly.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. It’s not like any of us know a ton of guys named Blake Countess. He’s also a former sixth-round selection of Philly’s. Think back to that draft ‘The Birds’ got a certain quarterback in.

The Eagles took Countess 196th overall in 2016, but he was released by Philly on September 3rd of that same year. He, then, found his way to the Los Angeles Rams, and that’s where he’s been ever since.

On March 12th of this year, the Rams tendered Countess as a restricted free agent. He remained unsigned until the Eagles picked him up on May 2nd.

2. Here’s what the Eagles, now, look like at safety.

In addition to Countess, the Eagles now have Deiondre’ Hall, Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Tre Sullivan, and Andrew Sendejo listed on their active roster.

Countess adds another component as he’s a valuable special teams ace. In 2018, he led the Rams in tackles on special teams, and when given a chance to help out in the return game, he responded by averaging 24.6 yards per return.

He’s also scored two touchdowns in his three-year career, both off of blocked punts.

3. Let’s do some numbers.

For his career, Countess has 54 tackles, a sack, three pass deflections, two interceptions and the two touchdowns we just mentioned. He’s been given a third chance in the NFL. Will he make good on the opportunity? Time will soon give us an answer.