The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed third-year safety Richard LeCounte, who most recently went to training camp this summer with the Los Angeles Rams.
LeCounte gives the Bucs an eighth safety for the final week of the preseason. Starters Antoine Winfield Jr. and Ryan Neal were held out of last Saturday's game against the New York Jets and rookies Christian Izien and Kedrick Whitehead were sidelined by minor injuries.
No corresponding move was necessary on Tuesday as the team created a spot on the 90-man roster on Monday when it waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
LeCounte first entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2021. He played in nine games as a rookie and then one more in 2022 before being waived in October and re-signed to the Browns' practice squad for a two-week period. After the Browns waived him again, LeCounte landed on the Rams' practice squad in December and was then re-signed by Los Angeles to a futures contract in 2023. LeCounte played in the Rams' preseason opener against the Chargers and tallied four tackles before being waived two days later.
LeCounte played his college ball at Georgia. He played in 41 games over four seasons and recorded 176 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, eight interceptions, 10 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
