Vernon Hargreaves III poses an intriguing decision for the Houston Texans

The Houston Texans got what they sought for when they claimed Vernon Hargreaves III off waivers through the 2019 season.

Vernon Hargreaves III turned out to be a plug and play player at a position that the Houston Texans needed the most at cornerback. The Texans went into the season with Aaron Colvin as their slot cornerback, but part ways after their first game of the season.

The Texans experimented with Bradley Roby in the slot and with Johnathan Joseph and Lonnie Johnson playing as the boundary cornerbacks. The Texans were high on Johnson when they selected him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but the amount of time he could play was limited with the brief experience he had playing at the NFL level in his rookie season.

However, claiming Hargreaves after being waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Texans another cornerback to throw into the mix. Hargreaves allowed the Texans to roll with a combination of Joseph, Conley, Roby as the boundary cornerbacks and have Hargreaves line up in the slot through six games.

Although Hargreaves gave a lot of yards in coverage, he showed promise as a recently claimed cornerback that was thrown into action with new teammates and coaching infrastructure. Hargreaves will earn a little more than $9 million if he remains on the roster beyond March 18, and the Texans could extend him to a multiyear to lower the cap hit for the 2020 season.

Texans have Johnson, Crossen, Conley, Anthony Chesley, and Cornell Armstrong under contract for the next season if they decide not to keep Hargreaves. However, Hargreaves’ athleticism and ball skills are an intriguing option for the Texans to keep at a reasonable price.