The Dallas Cowboys appear that they will move on from embattled defensive end Greg Hardy after a very rocky campaign.
Hardy would only finish 2015 playing 12 out of 12 games. He recorded 35 combined tackles, 6 sacks, 1 pass defense, one interception and one forced fumble. Hardy spent the beginning of his career with the Carolina Panthers (2010-2014).
In that time frame he recorded 204 combined tackles, 34 sacks, 15 pass defenses, and 7 forced fumbles. It was Hardy's scandal and resulting suspension that forced the Panthers to get rid of the talented but troubled pass rusher. Dallas was the first team to take a chance on Hardy since the incident and they have not only received PR attacks, Hardy was routinely late for team meetings and partied so much it affected his play. The Cowboys have around $12 million in cap space and with the restructuring of their secondary likely; they would rather utilize their cap space for a more pressing need.
They also have the fourth overall pick in the draft and that should net them a starter right away. Hardy has only played in 75 out of 96 games since he was suspended and has been a little dinged up here and there. Out of all of the defensive end needy teams in the NFL only the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions would make sense. The Lions will likely be stuck rebuilding after Calvin Johnson leaves which means they would need a lot of bridge players, Hardy could be utilized for that specific purpose.
The 49ers are somewhat the same however they need an edge rusher badly; the 49ers just want to compete and considering how calculating Chip Kelly is bringing Hardy to the 49ers might make a lot of sense. Finally the Falcons need speed coming off the edge and that is exactly what Hardy brings to the table. It is still a pretty large unknown if Hardy will have an NFL future past the Dallas Cowboys.
