Tom Brady may be, from outside appearances at least, making some headway in his battle against the league over his four-game Deflategate suspension, but that doesn't mean that Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy is likely to follow suit - literally. While the options remains for Hardy to file a lawsuit against the league in an attempt to see his four-game suspension - already knocked down from an initial 10-games - reduced further or rescinded altogether. Per a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, while Hardy has not yet made up his mind, the longer he waits to initial legal paperwork against the NFL, the less likely he is to do it at all.
Hardy, a former sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, spent almost the entirety of the 2014 season on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's exempt list after being arrested in connection with a domestic violence incident. He appeared in just one game, nabbing four tackles and one sack before being grounded by the league. For his career, the physical impressive Hardy now has 34 sacks and seven passes defensed.
Hardy's signing by the Cowboys this offseason came as something of a surprise due to his uncertain status, but made complete sense from an x's and o's perspective. Dallas, despite reaching the postseason last year and winning a wild card game over the Detroit Lions, managed just 28.0 sacks on the season, good enough for 28th in the league. Upgrading the pass rush was clearly a priority for the franchise this offseason as the Cowboys went out and added Hardy along with drafting troubled-but-talented pass rusher Greg Hardy in the second-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones actually went on record earlier this month and indicated his belief that the team was a pass rush away from winning the Super Bowl last year. With Hardy in the fold, he should certainly help alleviate what has become a serious concern in Dallas. The question remains though, whether he'll help them on or before Week 5.
