Hargreaves latest example of Texans’ personnel strategy.
The Texans’ personnel strategy of becoming more aggressive and acquiring multiple players through trades and waiver claims unfolded again this week.
How the Texans moved to pick up former Buccaneers first-round cornerback Vernon Hargreaves underscores how the Texans are operating under Bill O’Brien.
The Texans are actively looking for opportunities to acquire players under contract beyond this season that they regard as having upside. Hargreaves fits into that depressed asset category as a former NFL starter under contract through the 2020 season who was cut by the Buccaneers after drawing heavy criticism from coach Bruce Arians for a perceived lack of hustle.
This situation is similar to how the Texans traded a third-round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders for former first-round corner Gareon Conley, who’s also under contract next year.
After arriving in Houston late Wednesday night, undergoing a physical Thursday and practicing Friday, Conley is under consideration to play Sunday against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. The primary reason Hargreaves is here, though, is more about the bigger picture and the Texans trying to stockpile talent in their secondary.
Playing under a $14.17 million rookie contract that included an $8.51 million signing bonus, Hargreaves is due $981,366 for the remainder of this season. Tampa Bay exercised the fifth-year option for 2020 when he’s due a $9.594 million base salary that becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster the first day of the league year in March.
“Roster-building never takes a rest,” said O’Brien, who operates as a de facto general manager with assistance from executives Matt Bazirgan, Chris Olsen, James Liipfert and others since the dismissal of general manager Brian Gaine. “You’re trying to build the roster, relative to free agency, and in some ways during the season. Vernon is a good example of that.
“Everybody knows Vernon’s contractual situation. Everybody can look that up and understand what that is. Vernon knows it, we know it. We think there’s a potential for a good fit here, so we’ll see how it goes.”
So, the Texans get the remainder of the season to decide whether they want to keep Hargreaves for next year. Plus, 35-year-old corner Johnathan Joseph is in the final year of his contract and could retire and Bradley Roby is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
That would leave the Texans with Hargreaves, Conley, second-round rookie Lonnie Johnson Jr., Cornell Armstrong and Keion Crossen as cornerbacks under contract for next year.
How the roster will be constructed in future years is a daily consideration.
“That’s something we are constantly talking about,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot of different things that weigh in and we try to make the best decisions we can.”
Beyond their overhaul of the cornerback position, the Texans utilize their scouting information and conduct a contract analysis on other players they traded for, including left tackle Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills and running backs Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson to make decisions.
Hargreaves has talent. It’s a matter of what he and the Texans can do to bring it out of him.
“His first impressions are good,” O’Brien said. “He’s a good guy, and we’ll continue to work with him and we’ll see how it goes.”