Vernon Hargreaves starts working with the Buccaneers' starters

Vernon Hargreaves pulled down two interceptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which has earned the first-round pick some time with the starting defense, today. That's what Dirk Koetter said in his post-practice press conference.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Hargreaves with the 11th overall pick in this year's draft, and he's worked his way steadily up the depth chart since then. Strong performances by second-year undrafted free agent Jude Adjei Barimah kept Hargreaves with the backups. Two interceptions will get you noticed, though, and Hargreaves is too talented (and too highly-drafted) to keep him with the backups for too long.

One interesting question will be whether his reps will come just at Adjei-Barimah's expense, or whether veteran Alterraun Verner will be affected as well. Verner hasn't stood out this preseason, though he hasn't looked bad either, and Adjei-Barimah and Brent Grimes have both made some stand-out plays. Hargreaves is going to be a starter at some point, though, and that will eventually come at Verner's expense -- unless Grimes collapses first.