 Hargreaves with the Houston Texans in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 28, 26, 29 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1995-06-03)June 3, 1995 (age 29) Tampa, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 204 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Wharton (Tampa, Florida) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Florida (2013–2015) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016: 1st round, 11th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Vernon Hargreaves III (born June 3, 1995) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators and was selected 11th overall by theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the2016 NFL draft.
Hargreaves attendedWharton High School inTampa, Florida, where he playedfootball.[1] As a sophomore in 2010, he had 44tackles, twosacks, and twointerceptions. As a junior in 2011, he had 49 tackles and two interceptions, along with 11 offensivetouchdowns. As a senior in 2012, he had 110 tackles and five interceptions. He was recognized as the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2013Under Armour All-America Game.[2]
In addition to football, Hargreaves competed intrack & field at Wharton. As a senior in 2012, he posted a personal-best time of 22.56 seconds in the200-meter dash at the Hillsborough County National Division.[3] At theFHSAA District Meet, he placed fourth in the100-meter dash (11.10 s), second in thelong jump (22 ft3+1⁄2 in or 6.79 m) and twelfth in thehigh jump (5 ft 10 in or 1.78 m).[4]
Regarded as a five-star recruit byRivals.com, Hargreaves was ranked as the nation's bestcornerback recruit and the second best player overall.[5]
Hargreaves accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida, where he played for head coachesWill Muschamp andJim McElwain'sFlorida Gators football teams inSoutheastern Conference (SEC) competition in 2013, 2014, and 2015. As atrue freshman in 2013, he started 10 of 12 games, recording 38 tackles and three interceptions, and received first-team All-SEC honors at the cornerback position.[6][7] As a sophomore, he played 12 games with three interceptions, 13passes defended, and two fumble recoveries on 50 tackles. As a junior, he made four interceptions, a forcedfumble, and four passes defended on 33 tackles in 12 games; he earned All-SEC honors for the third consecutive year.[8] After his junior year, he announced his intentions forgo his senior season and enter the2016 NFL draft.[9]
| Season | GP | Defense | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | TfL | PD | Int | FF | ||
| 2013 | 14 | 38 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 14 | 50 | 2.0 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 13 | 33 | 1.0 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Career | 41 | 121 | 3.0 | 27 | 10 | 1 |
Hargreaves was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.[10] He was ranked the top cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and NFL analystDaniel Jeremiah; was ranked the second best cornerback in the draft by NFL analystsMike Mayock,Lance Zierlein, andBucky Brooks; and was ranked the second bestdefensive back in the draft bySports Illustrated and NFL analystCharles Davis.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Hargreaves' NFL Combine Workout | |
| Vernon Hargreaves' 40-yard dash |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | 30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 8+3⁄4 in (0.22 m) | 4.50 s | 1.58 s | 2.62 s | 3.98 s | 39 in (0.99 m) | 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) | 15 reps | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[17][18] | ||||||||||||
TheTampa Bay Buccaneers selected Hargreaves in the first round (11th overall) of the2016 NFL draft.[19][20] He was the third cornerback to be selected afterJalen Ramsey andEli Apple, and the first of seven Florida Gators in 2016.[21] On May 6, 2016, the Buccaneers signed Hargreaves to a fully guaranteed four-year, $14.17 million contract that includes asigning bonus of $8.51 million.[22]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Buccaneers draft Hargreaves 11th overall | |
| Vernon Hargreaves' Draft Interview |
Throughouttraining camp, he participated in an open competition for starting cornerback againstBrent Grimes,Johnthan Banks,Alterraun Verner,Jude Adjei-Barimah, andJoel Ross.[23] Head coachDirk Koetter named Hargreaves to be the third cornerback on the depth chart, behind Grimes and Verner.[24]
He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Buccaneers' season-opener at theAtlanta Falcons and recorded two combined tackles during a 31–24 victory. He made his first career tackle on wide receiverJustin Hardy in the first quarter.[25] On October 30, Hargreaves collected a season-high eight solo tackles and two pass deflections during a 30–24 overtime loss to theOakland Raiders in Week 8.[26] In Week 14, he made three solo tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterbackDrew Brees in the Buccaneers' 16–11 victory against theNew Orleans Saints.[27] He finished his rookie season with 76 combined tackles (68 solo), nine pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games with 16 starts.[28] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[29]
Koetter retained Grimes and Hargreaves as the starting cornerbacks to begin the 2017 regular season. On October 1, 2017, Hargreaves recorded a career-high nine solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 25–23 victory against theNew York Giants in Week 4.[30] In Week 8, he tied his season-high of two pass deflections and recorded six combined tackles during a 17–3 loss to theCarolina Panthers.[31] On November 12, Hargreaves made three combined tackles before exiting the Buccaneers' 15–10 win against theNew York Jets in the third quarter after sustaining ahamstring injury.[32] He was inactive for the next five games (Weeks 11–15) before the Buccaneers opted to place him oninjured reserve on December 20.[33] He finished his second season with 42 combined tackles (37 solo) and five pass deflections in nine games with eight starts.[34]
In Week 1 against the Saints, Hargreaves recorded seven combined tackles, one pass defensed and forced a fumble that was recovered by teammateJustin Evans and returned for a touchdown.[35] He suffered a shoulder injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve on September 12, 2018.[36]
On April 24, 2019, the Buccaneers exercised the fifth-year option on Hargreaves contract.[37]In Week 1 against theSan Francisco 49ers, Hargreaves intercepted quarterbackJimmy Garoppolo and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown in the 31–17 loss. In Week 2 against the Panthers, Hargreaves made 12 tackles, including a pivotal stop on fourth down; he pushed running backChristian McCaffrey out of bounds short of the first down marker in a 20–14 win.[38] After starting the first nine games of the season, Hargreaves was waived by the Buccaneers on November 12.[39][40]
On November 13, 2019, Hargreaves was claimed off waivers by theHouston Texans.[41] He was released on February 14, 2020,[42] but re-signed with the Texans on April 6.[43]
In Week 9 of the 2020 season against theJacksonville Jaguars, Hargreaves recorded his first interception as a Texan off a pass thrown by quarterbackJake Luton during the 27–25 win.[44]
On March 17, 2021, Hargreaves signed a contract extension with the Texans.[45] He entered the season as a starting cornerback, and started five of the eight games he played in before being released on November 3.[46]
On November 4, 2021, Hargreaves was claimed off waivers by theCincinnati Bengals.[47] Hargreaves was penalized 15 yards for running onto the field inSuper Bowl LVI, despite being inactive for the game.[48] Six days later, Hargreaves was fined $5,555.[49]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2016 | TB | 16 | 16 | 76 | 68 | 8 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | TB | 9 | 8 | 42 | 37 | 5 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | TB | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | TB | 9 | 9 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| HOU | 6 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 72 | 61 | 11 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | HOU | 8 | 5 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CIN | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career | 69 | 58 | 290 | 245 | 45 | 0.0 | 31 | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
His father Vernon Hargreaves Jr. is a college football coach who won a national championship as the linebackers coach for the Miami Hurricanes in 2001. His father was an All-American atUniversity of Connecticut in 1984 and 1985, and then played professionally in theItalian Football League.[50]