Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians isn't one to mince words.
Tuesday, the first day of the team's organized team activities, produced another example when reporters observed starting cornerback Vernon Hargreaves watching from the sidelines.
Following practice, Arians fielded questions on why Hargreaves wasn't with the first-team unit, and the response proved rather blunt.
"You'll have to talk to Vernon," Arians told reporters, via Greg Auman of The Athletic. "He's got to get his mind right for practice."
A follow-up question requested clarification, but Arians didn't budge.
"You'll have to ask him," the head coach told reporters.
Media didn't have that opportunity, as Hargreaves was not among the small group of players to talk after practice. But that's not uncommon during OTAs when considering teams are not obligated to open the locker room to media during the offseason. Players who do talk to media after an OTA practice are typically predetermined outside of special requests given to a team's media relations department.
Still, Arians' comments are sure to draw the spotlight going forward when considering the team recently exercised a fifth-year option on Hargreaves, whom the Buccaneers selected in the first round in 2016.
Meanwhile, there could also be a logical explanation as to why Hargreaves didn't work with the first team Tuesday.
He played the 2018 season opener before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, so maybe the Buccaneers are electing to take it easy on him ahead of training camp and the regular season.
Whether that is the actual scenario that caused Hargreaves to observe Tuesday's workout from the sidelines remains to be seen, though, as Arians apparently won't say.
