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There is no indication that Gregory doesn't love the game or isn't a good teammate. There's every indication that he loves marijuana more.
There was indication that McClain did not love the game, but no indication he wasn't a good teammate. Dallas gave him a prove-it deal to give him the chance to show he cared enough about playing to toe the line. He showed enough the first season for Dallas to give him another prove-it deal, and then he went back to being Rolando.
Hardy had shown he loved the game and was a good teammate. His deal was structured to account for his DV suspension. I don't think the Cowboys expected his attitude to sour when the season went into the tank. That plus less productivity than expected led Dallas to not be interested at all in re-signing him.
Two out of three met Garrett's RKG definition when Dallas acquired them. McClain did not completely meet it, but was a low-risk gamble.
I'm sure none of these players were ideally what Garrett would want because who would want a pothead, woman beater and purple dranker, but his definition of RKG does not eliminate players with problems, especially when the risk you take in acquiring them is not that great.
Probably the most accurate way to say it is that all three have/had some RKG attributes. That's what got them on the team despite the risks involved. If they had been known as locker-room cancers AND not having a love for football, I don't think Garrett would have gone along with their acquisition, no matter how cheap the cost.
Of course, I could be wrong about that. It's possible that RKG doesn't matter as much when the team is taking a low risk that allows it to move on from a player when it establishes that he isn't going to change.
You're right that they'll obviously take more risks on fit when the player doesn't cost picks or guaranteed money. That only makes sense.
It also mattered more as they were establishing the culture. There was a lot of bad blood with the Crayton, Barber, Ratliff, Choice group when Garrett first took over. They put an emphasis on drafting and signing character guys, and it made a big difference. That allows them to take a few low-risk chances. I'm fine with that.
It's the selection of high risk players like Gregory that I have a bigger problem with. It's expensive to miss on a guy like that, and you're likely to miss.