St. Louis Rams Hargrove was selected in the third round (91st overall) by the
St. Louis Rams. On July 24, 2004, Hargrove signed a three-year $1.25 million contract with the Rams, including a signing bonus of $442,000. As a reserve in 2004, Hargrove played in 15 games and started two. He totaled 31 tackles (23 solo) and recorded one sack. In 2005, he was the Rams starting right defensive end, totaling 51 tackles (43 solo) and 6.5 sacks. In 2006, he played in four games with two starts and had five tackles and one-half sack. Early in the 2006 season Hargrove had an unexplained two-day absence which caused him to be made inactive and then traded.
Buffalo Bills Hargrove was traded by the Rams to the
Buffalo Bills on October 16, 2006, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the
2007 NFL draft. Hargrove played in 10 games in 2006 and had 19 tackles (14 solo) and recorded a sack to make his 2006 totals 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks with both the Bills and Rams. On March 1, 2007, Hargrove signed the Bills' one-year tender of $850,000 for the 2007 season. In 2007, he played 12 games and made 28 tackles (18 solo) and had 1.5 sacks after serving a four-game suspension, which cost him $200,000 of his 2007 salary. On August 11, 2007, Hargrove was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the regular season for breaking the NFL's substance abuse policy. It was reported on January 18, 2008, that Hargrove had failed another drug test. Due to past violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy, Hargrove received a one-year suspension on January 24, 2008. It was announced he had been reinstated by the league on February 23, 2009.
New Orleans Saints On May 18, 2009, Hargrove signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams moved Hargrove inside to defensive tackle where he flourished. On November 8 of the same year Hargrove validated the Saints' decision by recovering a
fumble from the
Carolina Panthers and scoring a 4th-quarter touchdown, sealing a 30–20 victory for the Saints. Besides the rare occurrence of a touchdown scored by a
defensive lineman, the game was Panthers coach
John Fox's first loss in the
Louisiana Superdome and put New Orleans at a season-starting eight wins and no losses for the first time in Saints history. Hargrove was a
restricted free agent after the 2009 season, and it was reported that the
Detroit Lions were interesting in signing him, but on April 5, 2010, Hargrove signed the Saints' qualifying tender, and the Saints said he would return to the team in 2010. While a player for the Saints, Hargrove is alleged to have been involved in a
bounty program where coaches offered extra payments to defensive players who injured or otherwise knocked key offensive players out of the game. Hargrove faced an eight-game suspension in conjunction with the scandal, and was alleged to have told NFL officials that Saints coaches had instructed players to lie to league officials about the existence of the program.
Philadelphia Eagles The
Philadelphia Eagles signed Hargrove on August 3, 2011. He was released during final roster cuts on September 3.
Seattle Seahawks The
Seattle Seahawks signed Hargrove on September 9, 2011. On December 18, 2011, during a game against the
Chicago Bears, wide receiver
Johnny Knox sustained a serious back injury after attempting to recover his own fumble and awkwardly colliding with Hargrove. Knox required immediate surgery in order to stabilize an injured vertebra. The injury forced him to retire from the NFL.
Green Bay Packers The
Green Bay Packers signed Hargrove on March 29, 2012. On May 2, 2012, the NFL suspended Hargrove for the first eight games of the 2012 season after naming him as one of the ringleaders of the
New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. According to the league, Hargrove signed a statement admitting his role in the scheme, and also told at least one other player that the Saints had put a bounty on
Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship Game. He'd also lied to investigators when the league initially probed the Saints about the bounty scandal in 2010. Hargrove, along with the other suspended players, intends to appeal. His suspension was later overturned. Hargrove was released on August 24, 2012. On October 9, 2012, four weeks and three days after an internal appeals panel vacated suspensions imposed on Hargrove, Saints linebacker
Jonathan Vilma, Browns linebacker
Scott Fujita and Saints defensive end
Will Smith, the league has re-issued the discipline without any changes or reductions, according to a league source. This meant that Vilma was suspended a full season, Fujita was suspended three games, Smith was suspended four games, and Hargrove was suspended eight games. On December 12, 2012, "In a sharp rebuke to his successor's handling of the NFL's bounty investigation, former commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned the suspensions of four current and former New Orleans Saints players (including Hargrove) in a case that has preoccupied the league for almost a year."
Dallas Cowboys The
Dallas Cowboys signed Anthony Hargrove on May 16, 2013. Hargrove was released by the Cowboys on June 20. ==Personal==