Buccaneers move Vernon Hargreaves inside, but will it last?

The Buccaneers moved second-year cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III inside for their Week 7 game against the Buffalo Bills. For the most part, it was a move which produced positive results, but it may not last.

When the Buccaneers defense stepped onto New Era Field in Week 7, the first thing I did was look for Hargreaves. Of course, I looked outside, expecting him to be lined up against one of the Bills’ perimeter receivers.

Instead, to my surprise, I found him inside in the slot. Not only was he inside, but he was right on the line of scrimmage. Playing tight against Buffalo’s slot receiver.

Now, I say I was surprised, but it wasn’t a negative. I was pleasantly surprised. Along with some other media sources who from various echelons of coverage, I’ve been just one voice calling for Hargreaves’ move to the interior for weeks now. In fact, during his draft process, I projected the young corner as an inside defender, not a perimeter cover guy.

James Yarcho and I had this exact conversation with Trevor Sikkema of the Pewter Report in last week’s episode of the Walking the Plank podcast, so it’s good to see the coaches have been seeing the same things we have.

In his first game in the slot full-time, Hargreaves did pretty well.

Obviously, we’d all like to see an interception in his stat line, but hey, we can’t complain about improvement, can we?

Of course, this was against the Buffalo Bills, who don’t exactly have a prolific passing attack. Still, it was nice to see, and I think all Bucs fans would be happy seeing it continue.

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This is where things get a bit complicated. Robert McClain, who replaced Hargreaves outside, has been put into concussion protocol stemming from a hit which gave the Bills an additional 15-yards after a big completion.

Ultimately, the drive resulted in what would become the game-winning field goal. While McClain certainly didn’t help matters with his helmet-to-helmet hit, he played well for most of the day.

If he is unable to receiver the medical go-ahead before next Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, it’s likely we’ll either see Hargreaves move back outside, or perhaps Ryan Smith.

Smith is faster than Hargreaves, and has shown some potential while not getting a whole lot of in-game experience.

According to Football Outsiders, Smith has played on 52 defensive snaps this season before the Bills game, including the 45 he saw against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, Smith got two snaps on defense this week, giving him 54 for the year.

We’ll be keeping a close watch on how McClain progresses through the concussion protocol, and keep an ear out to see what happens throughout the week which might hint at who would move outside if he can’t go against Carolina.

How would fans of the Buccaneers feel if Hargreaves had to move outside again for Week 8? How do you feel about his performance in Week 7? If McClain can’t go, is Smith the man for the job?

I want to hear all your thoughts and opinions about this. Send them in one of the various ways to reach me, and listen in later this week as we discuss the topic on this week’s Walking the Plank podcast.

Comment, find me on Facebook, Twitter, or email me at walkingtheplankpodcast@gmail.com to discuss this or anything Buccaneers related.