The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play their final game of 2015 on Sunday, but there was time for one more roster move before the season was over.
READ: THURSDAY'S INJURY REPORT
On Friday, the Buccaneers placed safety Chris Conte on injured reserve due to a knee ailment suffered in Week 15 against New Orleans. The injury kept Conte out of last weekend's contest and was expected to sideline him again for the finale at Carolina on Sunday. Tampa Bay used the open spot on their 53-man roster to promote third-year linebacker Darius Eubanks.
Conte has played five NFL seasons, the first four with the Chicago Bears, including two under current Buccaneers Head Coach Lovie Smith. He has played in 71 games with 65 starts, recording 239 tackles, 11 interceptions, 27 passes defensed and four forced fumbles. He signed with the Buccaneers as an unrestricted free agent in March.
In his first season with the Buccaneers, Conte was one of the steadiest performers in a secondary that was in flux for much of the year. He played in each of the first 14 games, starting the last 13, and contributed 78 tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
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Eubanks (6-2, 222) was signed to the Bucs' practice squad just 10 days ago. He first entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2013 but was most recently on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad. He split his rookie season between the practice squad and active roster in Cleveland, appearing in nine games with one start and contributing 12 tackles.
Eubanks spent the 2014 season on injured reserve, then was waived during training camp this past summer. He had been on the Cowboys' practice squad since mid-October but was released last Tuesday. At Georgia Southern, Eubanks started 51 of the 52 games in which he played and earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors as a senior.
