The Cowboys haven’t spoken with Greg Hardy during free agency, executive VP Stephen Jones told media, including David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
Arguably the best player still on the market, the mercurial defensive end represents a PR risk for any team that begins negotiations with him. Entering his age-28 season, Hardy finished two seasons with over 10 sacks — including a career-high 15 in 2013 — but has missed 19 games in connection with a domestic violence incident and wasn’t exactly a model citizen in Dallas last season.
“[He’s] a free agent we haven’t had discussions with, if you want to say that,” Jones told media.
Earlier this week, we heard two teams were interested in Hardy but were trying to keep their interest under the radar in fear of attracting bad publicity.
Even amid Hardy’s struggles to acclimate in Dallas, the Cowboys said at multiple junctures they’d like to keep Hardy long-term. But the team steadily backed off that stance as the season went along. Hardy finished last season with six sacks after missing the first four games of the season due to a suspension.
Hardy ranked 21st on PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents list, behind only Ryan Fitzpatrick (No. 19) among still-available UFAs.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
I’m a firm believer in second and maybe even third chances because I know that if I wasn’t, I’d be throwing stones from my glass house…I think that the right business move for a team that is interested in Hardy would be to wait until after the draft and see what kind of pieces are obtained…if there’s still a need then make a 1 year incentive based contract offer…he’s the one that made his bed and he IS going to lay in it, it’s just a matter of if you’re in the market for a player of his skill set or not…also, if I was his head coach I’d eat his lunch and tell him that I was pumped to have him as a functional member of the team but his leash is as short as it gets…btw, it’s time for Ray Rice to get a workout with an NFL team he’s paid his dues
Give him a low base salary with incentives for sacks, tackles, etc
50% he can’t shut up, 50% reporters prodding him daily. Whey you stick a mic in front of people that have no filter, you get Greg Hardy.
Not resigning Hardy is a big mistake. Bosa may not be available at 4 and there are not players at DE in the draft who are as good as Hardy. He is a damn good player.