HOUSTON — The Houston Texans already had Vernon Hargreaves set to be one of two starting cornerbacks for their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Hargreaves was the aid filling in for Bradley Roby as Houston’s top cornerback, who will be serving the final of his six-game suspension during Week 1 of the regular season.
But what was deemed temporarily became permanent for Hargreaves when the Texans dealt Roby to the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday. In exchange, Houston received a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2023.
The trade caught players by surprise, including Hargreaves, who stated Roby’s departure as the “business” of the NFL.
“I’m always ready, always staying ready,” Hargreaves said. “I’ve been in the league long enough to know that anything can happen and you got to stay ready. It wasn’t no different of a year for me, after the trade, as far as me handling my business.”
Hargreaves isn’t foreign to the business of the league. He arrived in Houston amid the 2019 season when the Texans claimed Hargreaves off waivers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived Hargreaves that same year after he produced four subpar seasons. The Buccaneers selected Hargreaves with the No. 11 pick during the 2016 NFL Draft.
Hargreaves has had a jarring start to his career in Houston. But as he enters his third season with the Texans, Hargreaves has an improved understanding of the mental aspect of the game.
In 22 career games with the Texans, Hargreaves has recorded 72 tackles and nine pass deflections while allowing 68.6% of completed passes thrown his coverage.
“It’s kind of hard to explain, but you go through things, and you have to be mentally tough or that can run you out of here,” he said. “Just understanding how the game works, understanding how the business side of this whole football thing works, and understanding that you got to handle your business every day, one day at a time.”
Durability is the only attribute Hargreaves would like to carry over from the previous season. For the first time since his rookie year, Hargreaves played all 16 games.
Hargreaves’ first task as Houston’s primary cornerback will be against Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence. The NFL’s top draft prospect will make his debut inside NRG Stadium, and as a rookie quarterback, Hargreaves says there are “a lot of unknowns” when preparing for Lawrence.
But one way the Texans’ secondary are preparing for Lawrence is by executing Lovie Smith’s defensive scheme. In addition to Hargreaves, Smith announced on Thursday that Terrance Mitchell will start alongside the Florida prodigy.
“A lot of zone coverages, a lot of eyes on the QB,” Hargreaves said. “Read and react type defenses. Not so much man-to-man where you’re back is turned and you can’t really see the ball all that much. It gives everybody a chance to break on the ball, react on the quarterback, get to the ball and cause turnovers. It’s a whole defensive thing. It’s going to help everybody. Everybody is going to be able to read and react, play fast and get to the ball.”
Since the start of OTA’s during the summer, new cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso says the Texans value Hargreaves’ versatility on defense.
The trade of Roby to New Orleans opened the door of a new opportunity for Hargreaves. And with the help of the Texans’ defensive coaching staff, the 23-year-old defensive back could be in line for a breakout season. A career year could award Hargreaves a new contract with a pay raise — given him the chance to experience the good side of the NFL’s business.