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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs Elevate Richard LeCounte for Niners Game

The Buccaneers activated cornerback Richard LeCounte from the practice squad on Saturday, giving them an added option in the secondary for Sunday's game in San Francisco

lecounte elevation

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers elevated second-year cornerback Richard LeCounte from the practice squad on Saturday, making him eligible to play against San Francisco on Sunday. That gives the Buccaneers another potential option in the secondary with safety Ryan Neal ruled out due to a thumb injury and two other defensive backs – Carlton Davis (toe) and Josh Hayes (concussion) – listed as questionable on Friday's injury report.

The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020; it allows teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing one of those options in Week 11, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 54 players for their matchup with the 49ers. They will be able to keep 48 of those players active for the game, naming six inactives prior to kickoff.

Each player on the practice squad can be elevated up to three times during the regular season and an unlimited amount of times in the postseason. After the game, elevated players automatically revert to the practice squad without having to pass through waivers. This is the second elevation of the season for LeCounte.

The Buccaneers signed LeCounte, a Georgia product late in training camp and he played in the preseason finale against Baltimore, recording five tackles. He 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.

The practice squad elevation option was introduced as part of the new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. The new rule was something of a compromise, as it did not expand the active rosters beyond 53 players but did give teams a few more options on game days.

View pictures from Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice on 11/16/2023.

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