Buccaneers waive former first round pick Vernon Hargreaves

After a fast start to the 2019 season, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves has been on a downhill slide that has led to his release from the Buccaneers.

Just one day after we wrote that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must move on from former first round pick and cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, the team made it official as they waived him today. Hargreaves, a first round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2016, has not lived up to the hype in the first four years of his career, and it came to a breaking point on Sunday.

In his press conference after the game, head coach Bruce Arians stated that Hargreaves was benched for lack of hustle on a long catch and run by Arizona Cardinals’ rookie wide receiver Andy Isabella. It seems like the Bucs have seen enough to move on from Hargreaves and will now start the youngsters on the outside.

Hargreaves, when he has been healthy has not played to the potential of a first round pick, and his health has been a concern as well. This season, after missing all of 2018, Hargreaves has graded out at just a grade of 47.7 according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

The fourth year cornerback out of the University of Florida will now hit waivers where the other 31 teams around the league will have the opportunity to claim him. The Bucs will save close to $10 million in salary for 2020 with this move after picking up Hargreaves’ fifth-year option this offseason.

The pewter and red will now lean on second year players Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart, as well as rookies Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean to hold down the cornerback room after the release of Vernon Hargreaves. With one of the worst passing defenses in the league, one thing is for sure: it cannot get much worse.