On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed second-year cornerback Anthony Chesley to their active roster off their own practice squad. The team had an open spot on the 53-man roster after waiving rookie inside linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi on Tuesday.
The Buccaneers used the vacated spot on their practice squad to sign first-year linebacker Hamilcar Rashed, who was most recently on the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad.
Chesley provides depth to a secondary that has been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Mike Edwards have all missed the last two games, and cornerback Jamel Dean suffered a toe injury in last Sunday's game at San Francisco. Chesley has played in three games this season but is out of practice squad elevation options.
Chesley has been on the Buccaneers' practice squad for the balance of the season. He previously played in 12 games for the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts, registering seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Chesley originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019, and he split his rookie season between the practice squads in Cincinnati and Houston.
Rashed signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2021 after playing his college ball at Oregon State. He spent his rookie season on the Jets' practice squad and was then waived during training camp this past summer and claimed by the Steelers. He was on Pittsburgh's practice squad for the first 10 weeks of the season.
