Richard Lee LeCounte III (born September 11, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Early years

LeCounte attended

Liberty County High School Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

Hinesville, Georgia Hinesville is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 33,437 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated 33,273 ...

. As a senior, he was named the 2016 ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South Ca ...

'' Male Athlete of the Year and Football Defensive Player of the Year. LeCounte played in the 2017

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

. A five star recruit, he committed to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Georgia in 2017, LeCounte played in 10 games and had 15 tackles. As a sophomore in 2018, he started 13 of 14 games and led the team with 74 tackles and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. As a junior in 2019, LeCounte started all 14 and had 61 tackles and four interceptions. He returned to Georgia for his senior year in 2020, rather than enter the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

On May 1, 2021, LeCounte was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

with the 169th overall pick in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. On October 3, 2022, LeCounte was waived by the Browns and re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released on October 19.

Los Angeles Rams

On December 14, 2022, LeCounte signed with the practice squad of the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He signed a reserve/futures contract on January 9, 2023. He was waived on August 14, 2023.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On August 22, 2023, LeCounte signed with the

. He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2024.

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:LeCounte, Richard 1998 births Living people People from Liberty County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football safeties Georgia Bulldogs football players Cleveland Browns players Los Angeles Rams players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players