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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the surprising move of cutting former first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves today, just days after the cornerback was benched for lack of hustle during the team’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Hargreaves, who started all nine games this season and had an interception and touchdown back in Week 1, is still guaranteed the rest of his 2019 salary. But, by cutting Hargreaves now, the team made a smart business move, one that could’ve been costly had they kept him on the roster.
No cap relief for Bucs in cutting Hargreaves, as his rookie contract was fully guaranteed. Still gets remainder of his 2019 base salary. They're off the hook for his 2020 option at $9.9 million — an injury could have guaranteed that, so relief from that risk. https://t.co/2fHkR54dtO
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 12, 2019
While Hargreaves has played in all nine games this year, he played in just 10 total over the previous two seasons, so he certainly has a history of suffering season-ending injuries.
It’s clear Hargreaves didn’t fit into the team’s long-term plans, so better to part ways now rather than risk paying him more.
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