Rams waive DB Blake Countess after asking him to take pay cut

The Los Angeles Rams came out of the 2019 NFL draft with two safeties, one of whom can play multiple positions in the secondary. After adding Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott in the draft, Blake Countess’ job was hardly secure.

He’s now out of a job in L.A. as the Rams are cutting Countess, the team announced Thursday. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, they asked him to take a pay cut, but with the two sides unable to come to an agreement on his salary for 2019, the team is moving on.

The #Rams asked DB Blake Countess to take a pay cut from his $2M tender and they could not come to terms, source said. They are releasing him. LA drafted two safeties this year, but the door is open to return if he clears waivers.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 2, 2019

Countess was a restricted free agent this offseason and received an original-round tender from the Rams. That was set to pay him $2 million for 2019, but none of it was guaranteed. Therefore, the team will save his entire salary without taking on any dead money.

Rapoport mentioned that the team would be open to bringing him back, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team claim him off waivers.