Hargreaves expected to miss some time

Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III will be on the shelf for “at least a few weeks” according to Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter. Hargreaves sustained a groin injury in the 26-24 win over the Dolphins Thursday night.

To say that Hargreaves has struggled since joining the Bucs wouldn’t be a reach by any means and this is the season that he needs to prove his worth. Being sidelined with another injury certainly won’t help matters any, but he should be ready to go by week one.

Koetter spoke about the injury when he addressed the media on Friday;

“Yeah, he’s going to miss a little bit. Soft tissue - those are always sort of delicate, tricky-type, but it won’t be anything, I don’t think that will keep him out of any real games.”

The Bucs dealt with plenty of soft tissue injuries last season, so it’s best to lest Hargreaves rest and recover rather than rush him back too soon. This will allow rookies Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart to get some more reps and - after Thursday night - it certainly won’t hurt for Ryan Smith to get some more practice time.

The injury doesn’t seem serious, but it’s something to keep an eye both in terms of Hargreaves’ needing a big season and two rookies who will gain more playing time that are both gunning for his job.