Future of Hardy - Ware like money. Is that what the future looks like to retain him?

[muck4doo]

I'm beginning to think FS should be added to that. I would pay Thomas or Berry.

The position is starting to become that way. I'd like to see if Corey White can do well there during the pre-season.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I think Demarcus Lawrence will go a long way toward deciding this. If he looks to be on the road to stardom, the Cowboys probably won't have much interest in Hardy long term at huge dollars. But if Lawrence doesn't give anyone any reason to think he's going to be a top pass rusher, that changes things. Retaining Hardy becomes a bigger deal.

Also factor in that may still draft someone relatively high

 

[Hoofbite]

I think a long term deal, if he plays at a 14-15 sack level, we'll be at a JJ Watt type deal.

Dunno if anyone will offer Suh money

JJ Watt type deal? 6 years, $100M with $50M guaranteed?

That'd be a horrible deal.

 

[Hoofbite]

I doubt the Cowboys would be the highest bidder and Hardy's camp isn't signing an in season extension unless it wows them.

I agree. Dallas wouldn't offer one unless he was rolling. If he's rolling, there'll be multiple parties interested.

 

[Nightman]

JJ Watt type deal? 6 years, $100M with $50M guaranteed?

That'd be a horrible deal.

I don't think Hardy can wash away the Scarlet Letter even after one year.

I don't see him getting more than 5/65m with 25m guaranteed if he stays productive.

 

[AzorAhai]

I don't think Hardy can wash away the Scarlet Letter even after one year.

I don't see him getting more than 5/65m with 25m guaranteed if he stays productive.

That sounds about right. I could see a little higher total, but the guaranteed money looks about where I would expect.

 

[Hoofbite]

I think people are getting carried away suggesting Hardy is primed for a Suh or Watt contract if he has a good year.

If Hardy gets that, what does Justin Houston get with a good year in 2015 after posting 22 sacks in 2014? $200M?

I don't even think Suh is worth the contract he received and I'm willing to bet he never sees a fat chunk of it. His contract has "cap casualty" written all over it in year 4, which would leave over $50M unpaid.

 

[Hoofbite]

I don't think Hardy can wash away the Scarlet Letter even after one year.

I don't see him getting more than 5/65m with 25m guaranteed if he stays productive.

Even if he could there are a number of guys who get close to his number of sacks and who aren't on $100M contracts.

 

[dallasdave]

Indeed. Stud DE's are hard to find. If the guy puts out the numbers we're expecting, you pay the man. If he puts out big sacks, you pay the bucks. Do people really think we get to keep him for cheap forever?

/QB, LOT, DE, WR, CB
//Those are the positions you put up a lot of money for when you find a stud.
///This shouldn't be hard

Well said, stay thirsty my friend.

 

[TheFinisher]

The teams salary cap situation is much better next off-season between 12 million in dead money coming off the books and a Romo cap hit of 10+ million less then what it is this year, and ESPECIALLY if you factor in the anticipated departure of Brandon Carr and Mo Claiborne sometime between now and then.

 

[Joe Realist]

Hardy is here for 8 games then off to another team in 2016. If you look at it that way, you will be ok. Draft a DE and resign Spencer to a 2 year deal if possible. Also, can we get McClain back?

 

[KJJ]

I think Romo's age and health will cause the Cowboys to take the risk if the team is good. If the Cowboys end up going 13-3 or 12-4 again they will mortgage the future to keep the train rolling 2-3 more years.

Normally the guaranteed money would be prohibitive I agree. But Hardy plays a position that is probably the most important on defense and among the top 3 most important on a football team (along with QB and LT). Under normal circumstances players capable of putting up 15 sacks in a season do not hit FA at all.

Teams with wider windows will avoid him at that amount of guaranteed money. Non-competitive teams without QBs will likely deem him not worth the PR hit. But Dallas, assuming they are still good, would make a lot of sense for both sides.

If Jerry was going to mortgage the future after a 12-4 season to keep the train rolling he would have done whatever it took to resign Murray. Several cars were attached to him and now with him in Philly it may have derailed the Cowboys chances and put the pressure back on Romo's shoulders again. If Jerry has trouble trusting Dez due to off the field concerns he'll have a lot more trouble trusting a player like Hardy who's been convicted of assault. He roughs up another woman and his NFL career will be over so that will likely keep Jerry from committing to him long-term regardless if he has a great 2015 season. If Jerry doesn't trust him now only offering a one year incentive based deal he won't trust him a year from now with a multi year deal with a lot of guaranteed money. Under normal circumstances RB's who lead the league in rushing and were their teams MVP never hit the free agent market but it happened due to money.

Although Ware was still a good player and a great character guy he was released mostly due to money after the 2013 season. He was still good enough to produce 10 sacks in Denver this past season and would have helped the Cowboys pass rush but Jerry didn't want to pay him and Denver did. There's a possibility Dez may never be extended due to money and off the field concerns. Jerry is being very cautious on how he's spending money and although Hardy is a great player he'll be too big a gamble for him to mortgage his teams future on so expect the 2015 season to be a one year rental with Hardy. If Jerry saw a future in Hardy he would have secured him for more than just one season because a great season could bring out several teams bidding for him.

 

[KJJ]

You all realize that this was one incident? And any contract can be structured with a morals clause.

Do you realize this was a serious incident that got him convicted? One incident can lead to another and with the strict new NFL policy on domestic violence one more slip up and Hardy's NFL career will be over. Contracts can be structured with moral clauses but he's still going to want some guaranteed money and he'll go to the highest bidder after the 2015 season if he has a great year. Jerry's already made a statement by allowing Murray to walk and holding off on extending Dez that he's not mortgaging his teams future on RB's or players that have off the field concerns. By Jerry only committing to a one year incentive based contract with Hardy points to a one and done in Dallas for him. This was a move for NOW not the future.

 

[burmafrd]

I don't think Hardy can wash away the Scarlet Letter even after one year.

I don't see him getting more than 5/65m with 25m guaranteed if he stays productive.

you forget how short memories are these days. AND If he has another 15 sack season that puts him in very rare company- only a handful of players have ever had multiple 15+ sack seasons.

That would put him right up there with Watt and all the top pass rushers and he is still pretty young.

So he would definitely if he keeps his nose clean and plays like a beast get a huge contract that would indeed get close to Suh and Watt if not equal to Watt.

 

[NorthwestDallas40]

Do you realize this was a serious incident that got him convicted? One incident can lead to another and with the strict new NFL policy on domestic violence one more slip up and Hardy's NFL career will be over. Contracts can be structured with moral clauses but he's still going to want some guaranteed money and he'll go to the highest bidder after the 2015 season if he has a great year. Jerry's already made a statement by allowing Murray to walk and holding off on extending Dez that he's not mortgaging his teams future on RB's or players that have off the field concerns. By Jerry only committing to a one year incentive based contract with Hardy points to a one and done in Dallas for him. This was a move for NOW not the future.

He was not convicted. The judge's finding means nothing. The prosecution dismissed the charges. I'm not saying he is innocent of the act, but he is not guilty of the charges. Not the same thing.

You are right that he is another incident away from another suspension. But so is Orlando Scandrick with drugs. Not a reason not to have the guy on your team long-term. My main point is that, while a serious incident, it was a single incident and we have no evidence that he's done this before. So it may be isolated with this one woman. And if so, there is no reason not to resign him long-term.

 

[slick325]

Wouldn't be surprised if the Jones' talked extension and the numbers it can reflect while putting the one year deal in place. I wouldn't rule out an in season extension for Hardy if he gets a small suspension and plays lights out this season.

 

[KJJ]

He was not convicted. The judge's finding means nothing. The prosecution dismissed the charges. I'm not saying he is innocent of the act, but he is not guilty of the charges. Not the same thing.

You are right that he is another incident away from another suspension. But so is Orlando Scandrick with drugs. Not a reason not to have the guy on your team long-term. My main point is that, while a serious incident, it was a single incident and we have no evidence that he's done this before. So it may be isolated with this one woman. And if so, there is no reason not to resign him long-term.

He was found guilty of not only assaulting a female but communicating threats. The judge's finding do mean something and he found him guilty which is why the Panthers released Hardy and he's likely facing a multi game suspension by the NFL. If he assaults another female his NFL career will be over the NFL is far less tolerant of players assaulting women than they are of players like Scandrick who tested positive for a banned substance. There doesn't have to be any evidence that Hardy has done this before he's facing life without football if he ever does it again which means he carries a huge risk for any NFL team that commits to him long-term. One incident of this nature is one too many and the NFL is not going to tolerate it a second time. Ray Rice's career has been ruined off of one incident because it was caught on surveillance making it more disturbing and impactful now no NFL team will have anything to do with him despite being eligible to sign with someone.

 

[Nightman]

He was not convicted. The judge's finding means nothing. The prosecution dismissed the charges. I'm not saying he is innocent of the act, but he is not guilty of the charges. Not the same thing.

You are right that he is another incident away from another suspension. But so is Orlando Scandrick with drugs. Not a reason not to have the guy on your team long-term. My main point is that, while a serious incident, it was a single incident and we have no evidence that he's done this before. So it may be isolated with this one woman. And if so, there is no reason not to resign him long-term.

Really anyone is one DV incident away from big trouble. If someone gets arrested and put on that crazy Commissioner's Exempt list they are basically guilty until the League decides how much bad press they can take. They will drop the hammer on anyone, whether it is their first or second offense.

If the NFLPA can somehow get the Commissioners' List removed as a disciplinary option a first offense will still be a minimum of 6 games and maybe more. Hardy had no previous history so he is no more likely than Romo of getting into this kind of trouble again.

At least with the drug policy teams know exactly what the penalties will be and there won't be any Ray Rice tapes showing up. I think teams may be wary of Hardy because of this incident and use it against him in contract talks, but I don't think he is any more of an actual risk.

 

[Nightman]

He was found guilty of not only assaulting a female but communicating threats. The judge's finding do mean something and he found him guilty which is why the Panthers released Hardy and he's likely facing a multi game suspension by the NFL. If he assaults another female his NFL career will be over the NFL is far less tolerant of players assaulting women than they are of players like Scandrick who tested positive for a banned substance. There doesn't have to be any evidence that Hardy has done this before he's facing life without football if he ever does it again which means he carries a huge risk for any NFL team that commits to him long-term. One incident of this nature is one too many and the NFL is not going to tolerate it a second time. Ray Rice's career has been ruined off of one incident because it was caught on surveillance making it more disturbing and impactful now no NFL team will have anything to do with him despite being eligible to sign with someone.

He wasn't found guilty of anything. You can't keep saying that. If a person is found guilty and it is reversed on appeal, they are not guilty. The whole process has to play out. It would be like saying Dallas beat GB because they were winning at halftime.

And the first offense under the old policy was 2 games and 6 games under the new policy. His career is not in jeopardy.

 

[AzorAhai]

Wouldn't be surprised if the Jones' talked extension and the numbers it can reflect while putting the one year deal in place. I wouldn't rule out an in season extension for Hardy if he gets a small suspension and plays lights out this season.

I bet they talked extensively about a long term deal. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the Cowboys really wanted a long term deal to try to get a bargain, but Hardy was the one against it. He probably figured get a 13m check this year and bet on himself instead of locking in to a 5 year 45-50m with low guaranteed money.