The Cowboys publicly have made it clear that they want to keep Greg Hardy beyond 2015. Privately, they’re making it clear, too.
Per a league source, the Cowboys have in response to the recent media and fan criticisms of Hardy reached out to his representatives to declare that they have no issues with Hardy, on or off the field. The Cowboys also made it clear that they want to extend Hardy’s contract.
It may not be the best way for Hardy to build leverage. Then again, how much leverage does he really have? The line for his services wasn’t extending out the door and down the block.
Regardless, the Cowboys love the guy. They have no problem with his behavior during the Giants game, his comments prior to the Patriots game, the reported absence from practice on Thursday, or presumably anything else he has done or will do — including his very recent re-tweet of an article that stands for the proposition that we should simply accept the fact that Hardy is a villain.
“You need people like me, so you can point your finger and say that’s the bad guy,” declares the caption to the photo of Tony Montana, in the tweet that Hardy shared with his followers.
The Cowboys have accepted the fact that their star pass rusher has warts that are irrelevant to his ability to apply contusions to quarterbacks. Because the Cowboys agreed to a term that prevents them from using the franchise or transition tag, Hardy will hit the market unless the Cowboys sign him to a new deal. And the better he does his job over the balance of the season, the more willing someone else will be to pursuing him.
Which is making the Cowboys willing to sign him to a new deal, sooner than later.