Cowboys Will Reportedly Not Re-Sign Greg Hardy

One of the NFL’s most polarising and talented figures may find himself without a team in 2016, following rumours that the Dallas Cowboys are not interested in re-signing Greg Hardy.

Hardy joined the Cowboys on a one-year, incentive based deal in March, ending the season with 6 sacks and a building reputation as a dangerous pressure man in passing situations.

But according to Bleacher Report’s NFL insider Jason Cole, the team was displeased with Hardy, who “partied a lot during the season and was not in great physical shape as the season wore on.” Hardy’s poor attitude also led to him being “tardy to several meetings” and “was part of the reason why the team felt so distracted by his presence.”

Poor conditioning and a penchant for partying are far from the worst traits of Hardy’s character, so it’s ironic that the usually tolerant Jerry Jones would see those reasons as the biggest factors for casting aside a key piece of his defense.

Jones has always maintained, though, that he will put up with just about anything if it means making the Cowboys a better team, so it’s possible that these problems are more far-reaching than first assumed.

The possibility of Hardy not retuning opens up the chance of the Cowboys drafting a top-tier pass rusher early in the draft.

Big names like Clemson’s Shaq Lawson, Oregon’s DeForest Buckner and Ole Miss’ Robert Nkemdiche could all very conceivably be on the board by the time the ‘Boys pick at number four, with Ohio State’s Joey Bosa – arguably the top prospect in the class – an outside chance of still being available.