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Video could get Bucs’ Vernon Hargreaves in trouble

Instagram post seems to show former first-round pick smoking an unknown substance.
 
Published March 28, 2018|Updated March 29, 2018

Bucs cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, working to bounce back from struggles on the field last season, now may have off-field issues to deal with as well.

A short video posted on Instagram this week appears to show Hargreaves smoking a cigarette of unknown substance.

It's unclear exactly what Hargreaves is smoking and when the video was taken. It shows him in a hoodie, looking into the camera and blowing smoke at it. The video doesn't have sound. A lyric from the song Too Playa by Migos — "i put a lil ice on the flex" — are posted on the screen.

The video was not posted from Hargreaves' Instagram account but one with a similar handle, _vhiii_, the difference being an underscore before and after his nickname. The video was posted twice, noticed by others and posted to Twitter early Wednesday. The Instagram account had been deleted by later Wednesday morning.

Hargreaves, 22, nor his agent returned calls seeking comment. The Bucs did not have any comment when notified of the video.

The NFL could be interested in what Hargreaves might have been smoking. Marijuana is a banned substance in the league, and a positive test puts a player in the league's substance abuse program and can result in a suspension.

Less than a day earlier, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter had expressed confidence and support for the 2016 first-round draft pick, saying he was a big part of their defense moving forward and had played well after moving into a part-time role as the nickel cornerback last season.

The former Wharton High and Florida star missed the final seven games of the 2017 season with a hamstring injury but is expected to be healthy when the Bucs resume conditioning work next month.

Giants receiver Odell Beckham had a similar situation last week with a video posted on Instagram, showing him with some kind of cigarette in his hand while lying in bed with a woman and a pizza. Asked about it this week at the owners meetings in Orlando, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman joked that "All I saw was the pizza."