St. Louis signs three for defense

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams added depth to their secondary on Thursday, signing Terry Fair and Corey Ivy to one-year contracts.

The Rams also signed fourth-round pick Jerome Carter, a safety from Florida State, to a three-year deal.

Fair, a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1998, last played in the NFL in 2002 for the Carolina Panthers. He sat out the 2003 season and last year he was in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He's made 48 career NFL starts and seven interceptions and two forced fumbles, and also has returned two kicks for touchdowns.

Ivy will enter his fourth NFL season after playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since the middle of the 2001 season. He's played in 49 career games, mostly in a backup role.

Carter, who'll participate in Rams' three-day rookie minicamp this weekend, is the team's first draft pick to sign this year. He was defensive captain his senior year at Florida State and was third on the team with 74 tackles, including a career-high 16 tackles against Florida and 10 tackles in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia.