SATURDAY, 9:06pm: Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie buried the Hardy-to-Oakland rumors, telling CSNCalifornia’s Scott Bair the team doesn’t have “any intention” of pursuing him (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 2:18pm: Speaking to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, Mark Davis called rumors of the Raiders’ interest in Hardy “false, falser, and falsest.”
“He’s somebody we are not negotiating with and I don’t believe we would be interested in at this point in time,” Davis said. “I can tell you this: It has not been brought up to me and it would have to come to me.”
FRIDAY, 1:35pm: Bill Williamson of ESPN.com and Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) have both been told by sources that the Raiders aren’t engaged in discussions with Hardy about a deal.
FRIDAY, 10:43am: Hardy is in negotiations with at least one team, and is drawing interest from others, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus, who suggests to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that his client’s market may be more lucrative than expected. Per Schefter, Rosenhaus expects Hardy to earn a “strong multiyear deal.”
“It’s a very positive situation,” Rosenhaus said. “While we’re waiting to hear from the league, we’re working through it, and it has been very encouraging.”
Gus Bradley, the head coach of one team that has been linked to Hardy, said today that the defensive end’s name has not come up in the Jaguars’ free agent discussions, per Nick Kostos of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 7:55am: With two more free agent pass rushers coming off the board this morning, teams looking to generate an outside pass rush may soon have to make a decision on whether to seriously pursue Greg Hardy, who is still awaiting word on potential discipline from the NFL. Reports this week have suggested about a half-dozen teams are eyeing Hardy, but they’re proceeding with caution due to Hardy’s off-field history and the possibility that he’ll be facing a suspension.
It appears one of those clubs with interest in Hardy is the Raiders. Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post first reported (via Twitter) that Oakland is considering the former Panthers defensive end, and the team’s interest has since been confirmed by others, including Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
While Hardy certain makes sense for the Raiders from an on-field perspective, it would be a surprise if the team was seriously considering adding him, based on the franchise’s stance on domestic violence. Owner Mark Davis has said in the past that players with that sort of history won’t receive too long a look from the Raiders — most recently, Davis told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, “We just said it’s not going to be something that we tolerate here.”
Of course, Hardy wasn’t found guilty in his domestic violence case, but there are still concerns about the situation after he reached a civil settlement with the alleged victim. For now, the 26-year-old, who had 15 sacks in 2013 before missing most of the 2014 season, remains on the commissioner’s exempt list as the league completes its review of his case. Hardy remains eligible to sign a new contract, even on the exempt list.
Another potential suitor for Hardy could be the Jaguars — GM David Caldwell didn’t rule out the possibility of pursuing him when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.