Anthony Hargrove

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.

Anthony La'Ron Tony Hargrove (born July 20, 1983) is a former American football defensive end.

Hargrove was selected in the third round (91st overall) by the St. Louis Rams.

He was academically ineligible for the season as a junior in 2003, but started every game at weakside defensive end as a sophomore.

He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

He played college football at Georgia Tech.

Hargrove also played for the Buffalo Bills as well as winning Super Bowl XLIV with the New Orleans Saints, beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks in 2011, and Green Bay Packers in 2012.

Hargrove played high school football at Port Charlotte High School in Florida.

He played quarterback and free safety for the Pirates, before moving to defensive line in college.

Hargrove started 13 of 24 games for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with 70 tackles (36 solo) with six sacks, 19 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and three passes defensed.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Hargrove on August 3, 2011.

He was released during final roster cuts on September 3, 2011.

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 clashing with Hargrove.

Knox required immediate surgery in order to stabilize an injured vertebra.

The injury forced him to retire from the NFL.

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.