Bucs Elevate Two Players Prior To Facing Bills

The Bucs announced this afternoon two elevations to the active roster prior to their 8:15 p.m. ET slate against the Bills on Thursday night. Defensive tackle Deadrin Senat and Safety Richard LeCounte III will be on the active roster, but it remains to be seen if they will avoid being listed as a gameday inactive.

No Vita Vea For Bucs?

The Bucs’ elevation of Deadrin Senat is a measured move with the status of nose tackle Vita Vea not yet known. Vea did not practice this week with a groin injury and is going to be a game-time decision. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo stated as much this morning.

For Senat, it marks the second call-up for him, as he was also moved up before the Eagles game. While Senat is a potential Vea replacement, Richard Lecounte III will take the stead of safety Kaevon Merriweather.

Merriweather suffered an ankle injury against the Falcons and left the game. If Lecounte does indeed suit up at all, it would mark the first regular-season action for him since 2022 with the Browns. He has appeared in ten NFL games, nine of which came with Cleveland during the 2021 season.

Both Senat and Lecounte offer extra depth and reinforcements for the Bucs should they be needed. In terms of other injury news, everything else has been settled. Quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee) and wide receiver Chris Godwin (neck) will both play tonight after being mostly limited during the week. Running back Chase Edmonds (knee) was activated and placed on the 53-man roster yesterday and is expected to receive some touches behind Rachaad White.

There is one known absence from the starting lineup before tonight’s Primetime matchup. It also was reported yesterday that left guard Matt Feiler will not play and Aaron Stinnie will be taking his place along the offensive line. It will be Stinnie’s first game as a starter since Week 11 of the 2021 season against the Giants. Otherwise, one has to go back to his solid run as the Alex Cappa fill-in during the team’s 2020 Super Bowl run as the last time he saw consistent action. For Tampa Bay’s sake, they will surely hope he can have the same impact along a Bucs’ interior that has had its share of struggles through six games.