Claiming Hargreaves wise move for Miami?
Veteran cornerback has 40 tackles, one interception with the Buccaneers this season
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins have supplemented their 2019 roster by making 14 waiver wire claims, adding talents such as Taco Charlton, Steven Parker and Avery Moss to this rebuilt roster by acquiring players other team’s have discarded.
It seems like another opportunity to add a former first-round pick has surfaced with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers releasing cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, a former University of Florida standout, on Monday.
At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the 24-year-old will likely be claimed by an NFL team.
Hargreaves, the No. 11 pick in the 2016 draft, was the most experienced cornerback on the Buccaneers roster. He had started all nine of Tampa Bay’s games this season, contributing 40 tackles and one interception, on which he scored a 15-yard touchdown. He also broke up four passes.
But Hargreaves fell out of favor with the Buccaneers coaching staff and front office, who apparently concluded they weren’t going to honor his the fifth-year option on his contract, which would have paid him roughly $9.6 million in 2020.
“After thoughtful consideration over the past few weeks, [coach] Bruce [Arians] and I came to the conclusion that we needed to make this change,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said in a statement. “Decisions such as this are always difficult, but I felt it was in the best interest of our team to part ways with Vernon at this time and allow him to explore other opportunities. We are disappointed that it did not work out here for Vernon and we wish him continued success moving forward.”
The Dolphins are fourth on the list when it comes to waiver wire claims, sitting behind the Cincinnati Bengals (0-9), Washington Redskins (1-8) and New York Giants (2-8), so there’s a good possibility Hargreaves can be had if Miami
puts in a claim and those three other franchises don’t. If Hargreaves does get claimed and allocated to the Dolphins, Miami would be required to release one player or place someone on injured reserve to create a roster spot for him.
Hargreaves, who is the son of former University of Miami and Florida International assistant Vernon Hargreaves II, has started 34 NFL games during his fouryear career, contributing 165 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
If healthy, Hargreaves can immediately help a talent-starved Dolphins secondary. That group is dealing with the absence of cornerback Xavien Howard, who had his season ended last month because of left knee soreness, and strong safety Reshad Jones, who is working his way back from a chest injury that has sidelined him for the past four games.
The Dolphins’ entire secondary, with the exception of free safety Bobby McCain and cornerback Eric Rowe, is composed of players claimed off the waiver wire or former practice squad players.
The problem with claiming Hargreaves centers around his guaranteed contract, which pays him $2.4 million this season and breaks down to $140,195 per game for final seven contests.
While the Buccaneers opted into his fifth-year option, which will pay the former first-round pick roughly $9.6 million in 2020 if he’s on the roster in March, that salary is only guaranteed for injury. If claimed, Miami can waive Hargreaves before the start of the league’s new year and walk away without any penalties. They could also restructure his contract, much like they with receiver DeVante Parker last offseason, but the player would have to be a willing party.
Hargreaves grew up in South Florida before finishing his high school career in Tampa while his father was coaching linebackers at the University of South Florida, so he’d likely appreciate remaining in the state.
The biggest indicator of what Miami might do is how the Dolphins organization felt about Hargreaves during the draft process and his first four seasons in Tampa. That might influence the debate about whether Hargreaves’ production would be worth his bloated 2020 salary.