The Texans have released cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (Twitter link via NFL.com’s James Palmer). As a post-deadline cut, he’ll go on the waiver wire and made available to the rest of the league’s teams. If he goes unclaimed after 24 hours, he’ll be a full-fledged free agent.
Hargreaves started in five games for the Texans this year and played in nearly every snap on Sunday against the Colts. Of course, that wasn’t a banner game for the Texans — they lost 31-3 while Jonathan Taylor torched the front seven for 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Houston claimed Hargreaves off waivers from the Tampa last year, a low-risk move to improve their secondary. He went on to start in all 16 of his games while registering 72 stops, seven passes defensed, and one interception. The advanced metrics weren’t fond of his work — Pro Football Focus ranked him near the bottom at cornerback, out of 126 qualified NFL corners. Still, the Texans re-upped the former first-round pick on a one-year, $1.325M deal.
Cutting Hargreaves won’t have much of an impact on the Texans’ cap, especially if another team scoops him up between now and Thursday afternoon.
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