Bucs add Henry Melton, Chris Conte
TAMPA, Fla. -- A day after signing linebacker Bruce Carter, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to add to their defense.
The team agreed to contract terms with defensive tackle Henry Melton, who, like Carter, played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, and former Chicago Bears safety Chris Conte on Thursday morning.
Conte's arrival likely signals the team will part ways with Dashon Goldson. He wasn't a natural fit in the Tampa 2 defense and was scheduled to cost $8 million against this year's salary cap. Releasing Goldson will free up $4 million in cap room.
Conte dealt with concussion problems in Chicago last year. But he has history with coach Lovie Smith from their days together with the Bears. Conte has eight interceptions over the past three seasons.
Melton also has deep ties to Smith; he spent four seasons with Smith and the Bears before moving to Dallas last year. Melton is a strong interior pass-rusher. He had five sacks last season and a career-high seven sacks in 2011. He was a Pro Bowler in 2012.
Melton likely will be a rotational player behind Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald.
The Cowboys elected to pass on Melton's $9 million option, which made him a free agent for the second time in as many years.
After being limited to just three games in 2013 with the Bears because of a torn ACL, Melton played in every game but started only three. He finished second on the defense with five sacks to go with 17 quarterback pressures, but he was credited with just 20 tackles by the coaches.
He did not have a sack in the final seven games of the season. A deep bone bruise on his knee landed him on injured reserve after the final game of the regular season, and he missed the Cowboys' playoff contests.
Conte, 26, fought through a litany of injury issues last season, missing time because of a back injury, an eye injury and sprains of both shoulders. Conte was unable to continue in seven of the 12 outings he played before finishing out the final three games on the team's inactive list. In all, Conte was inactive for four games.
Conte was diagnosed last season with two concussions and created a stir in December when he said playing in the NFL is worth the risk he takes to his long-term health. He said he'd "rather have the experience of playing and, who knows, die 10, 15 years earlier than not be able to play in the NFL and live a long life."
A third-round pick of the Bears in 2011, Conte told ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson that his comments to WBBM didn't reflect his stance specifically on concussions, claiming he was referring to the general health risks of playing in the NFL.
ESPN.com Cowboys reporter Todd Archer and ESPN.com Bears reporter Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
