For the first time in his four-year career, Vernon Hargreaves is heading to the playoffs.
The former Florida Gator is no longer the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ promising 2016 first-round pick; his tenure could be considered a failure. However, the cornerback is a member of the playoff-bound, AFC South champion Houston Texans, and everybody loves a winner.
The Bucs released Hargreaves on Nov. 12. The Texans added him off waivers the next day. Weeks later, he helped them defeat Tampa Bay in a game that sent them to the playoffs via a clinched AFC South.
Though Thanksgiving is in the past, Hargreaves would have named the Texans something he is thankful for if it weren’t. Since joining the team, he has felt like home.
“Let me tell you, these guys help me out as if I was a first-round draft pick to the Texans,” Hargreaves told reporters after beating the Bucs. “They help me out the whole way until I got my place there. I love these guys, I appreciate them. They’ll forever be in my heart just because of how good they took care of me and I’m happy I’m here.”
To be more specific, Hargreaves says he owes Texans coach Bill O’Brien because he gave him another shot in the NFL after a disappointing career in Tampa Bay, his hometown.
“I can’t even say how good of a person he’s been to me and how good of a coach he is,” Hargreaves said. “I owe him a lot, I really do because he gave me another chance and that’s all I can ask for and I’m happy he picked me up.”
In five games with the Texans, Hargreaves has 20 combined tackles and two pass deflections. Since landing in Houston, the 24-year-old has shifted positions, playing outside in Tampa Bay and inside in Houston.
Though there are growing pains to shifting positions, Hargreaves has helped the Texans’ secondary. He will need to continue to do so if he wants them to roll into 2020 with a $9.594 million fifth-year option still to his name.