The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released Vernon Hargreaves two days after the starting cornerback was benched for a lack of hustle by Bruce Arians.

"After thoughtful consideration over the past few weeks, Bruce and I came to the conclusion that we needed to make this change," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said in a statement. "Decisions such as this are always difficult, but I felt it was in the best interest of our team to part ways with Vernon at this time and allow him to explore other opportunities. We are disappointed that it did not work out here for Vernon and we wish him continued success moving forward."

Hargreaves was the 11th overall pick in 2016. Tampa Bay picked up their fifth-year option for 2020 on Hargreaves worth $9 million. The contract was only guaranteed for injury.

"He didn't look like he was hustling to go in for a tackle," Arians said when asked about Hargreaves, who surrendered a 55-yard catch to Andy Isabella at the beginning of the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. "He was chasing somebody across the field and he wasn't running fast enough."