News: DC: Cowboys Agree To Terms With Pro Bowl DE Greg Hardy

Frosty · Mar 18, 2015

waving monkey said:
Hardy may have been asking for the moon and it could'nt fit
in our salary structure. Honestly i 'm surprised they opened up
the purse strings as much as they did. Everybody would like a longer contract

We're the Cowboys able to sign Hardy without restructuring Romo's or Carr's contracts..... interested in seeing how Hardy's contract affects the Cap numbers

SDCowboy · Mar 18, 2015

Hopefully he pans out and we sign him long term after this season.

waving monkey · Mar 18, 2015

Bigdog24 said:
We're the Cowboys able to sign Hardy without restructuring Romo's or Carr's contracts..... interested in seeing how Hardy's contract affects the Cap numbers

very relevant

big dog cowboy · Mar 18, 2015

Oregon_Cowboys_Fan said:
Just posing a question for any ones thoughts, with this signing of Hardy, "IF" The Cowboys have any intent of even attempting to Aquire Adrian Peterson are they now only in a position to bet on his release? OR- Does this signing close the door for good on any future hope of getting A.P. behind that O-Line?

Welcome to the CZ! I have no idea what the Cowboys are thinking, but it's hard for me to imagine they would trade for AP given his current contract. The next statement is usually something like, well they could redo his deal. To which I respond, if the Cowboys didn't want to pay Murray more than $6M per do you think they would come up far enough and do you think AP would come down far enough for a new deal to be made? Nope. So the bottom line is I don't think the signing of Hardy has any impact on what we do or don't do with regards to Peterson.

AsthmaField · Mar 18, 2015

IMO Dallas isn't even thinking about AP unless he's released and comes at a good bit less money than his current deal in Minn. At least I certainly hope that is the case.

DallasCowboysRule! · Mar 18, 2015

My guess is we let him walk next season. He's a band aid for the DL until we can get infuse it with homegrown talent

AsthmaField · Mar 18, 2015

As far as Hardy and his one year deal... if Dallas wants him next year, they'll sign him then. Just like Dez isn't going anywhere and Murray was wishing like hell he could stay in Dallas. The difference in Hardy and Murray is that Dallas knows an elite edge rusher is very difficult to come by, while RB's are much, much easier.

Hardy will love playing in Dallas... and if Dallas loves Hardy, he will stay right where he is. If Dallas doesn't want him then they're off the hook after this season.

Bowdown27 · Mar 18, 2015

Nice to see him already saying the right things

SDCowboy · Mar 18, 2015

DallasCowboysRule! said:
My guess is we let him walk next season. He's a band aid for the DL until we can get infuse it with homegrown talent

Young, elite pass rushers aren't a band aid. They're often a cure for a bad DL.

big dog cowboy · Mar 18, 2015

AsthmaField said:
As far as Hardy and his one year deal... if Dallas wants him next year, they'll sign him then. Just like Dez isn't going anywhere and Murray was wishing like hell he could stay in Dallas. The difference in Hardy and Murray is that Dallas knows an elite edge rusher is very difficult to come by, while RB's are much, much easier.

Hardy will love playing in Dallas... and if Dallas loves Hardy, he will stay right where he is. If Dallas doesn't want him then they're off the hook after this season.

Home run post.

manster4ever · Mar 18, 2015

Vinnie2u said:
You can franchise him next year if needed..

no...we can't actually

DallasCowboysRule! · Mar 18, 2015

SDCowboy85 said:
Young, elite pass rushers aren't a band aid. They're a cure.

I only say that because I don't see us being able to afford him long term. I would prefer to keep him so hopefully Jerry can work his magic next year.

SDCowboy · Mar 18, 2015

DallasCowboysRule! said:
I only say that because I don't see us being able to afford him long term. I would prefer to keep him so hopefully Jerry can work his magic next year.

I'm guessing the team can easily afford him long term if they want him.

AsthmaField · Mar 18, 2015

DallasCowboysRule! said:
My guess is we let him walk next season. He's a band aid for the DL until we can get infuse it with homegrown talent

I don't see it that way at all. The guy is elite and he is just coming into his prime. The Dallas salary cap is going to get in better shape every year, so money won't be an issue if the team wants him.

Like I said in my previous post, the team is fully aware how difficult elite edge rushers are in this league and unless Hardy goes off the deep end, the team will covet him just like they did DeMarcus Ware until his decline.

Frankly, it is a brilliant move and it is THE move I wanted us to make (along with a lot of people on here). I love it for many reasons:

1. The guy is just entering his prime and has a ton of years left at an elite level. That is the most important thing to me when signing an elite talent in free agency. Signing an old guy like Denver did Ware just kills your cap after the first year or two and you aren't getting anything close to their prime.

2. He has the nasty attitude that I have been wanting the defense to incorporate into it for years. Rolando McClain helped but a big beast up front that plays like a mad dog will change the entire defense. It is a big reason that I wanted Suh in Dallas.

3. His talent. The guy very well might be the best 43 DE in the NFL for the next few years. I heard a guy on Fox Sports Radio today say he was the best pass rusher in the NFL. Period. That kind of talent is rare and is even rarer to get it at the beginning of his prime at no cost in draft picks. Rare size and talent at DE is going to galvanize the defense to a much higher ranking than would otherwise be possible.

4. Hardy will make the other players around him better. Lawrence rushing opposite Hardy will have much better chances of getting to the QB, and the DT's too. The LB's and secondary will have fewer people to cover a lot of the time. Teams will have to keep a TE or back in to chip and help on Hardy. If Lawrence turns out good, it will severely compromise the opposing offense.

5. It opens up the draft immensely and all but eliminates the chances of the team reaching for need on the DL. I said all along to let Murray walk, to use that money instead on an impact defensive player as long as he was still young, and to replace Murray with an inexpensive free agent and a draft pick. The team used to never do what I hoped it would, but for a few years now they are doing things almost exactly like many of us have wanted for year. Very smart moves by the team. If they get an impact DT in the draft to go along with the player we already have, the line could be fearsome.

I can't begin to explain how much I think this was a dynamite move and how much it helps the team.

Kaiser · Mar 18, 2015