The Cowboys made a splash Wednesday, signing troubled defensive end Greg Hardy to a one-year contract.
One of Hardy's former Panthers teammates, tight end Ben Hartsock, spoke with Dallas radio station KESN-FM before Hardy’s signing to discuss the ex-Carolina star.
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"Greg Hardy is an interesting character,” Hartsock said. "His notoriety as of late hasn't been in a positive light, but before the whole domestic violence thing came down on him, he was more of just kind of viewed as kind of a cartoon figure in our locker room. He was kind of a harmless beast kind of thing, in the sense that everything was just kind of benign goofiness. But Greg can play football."
Hartsock added that Hardy’s obsession with his alter ego, "The Kraken," has caused him to "lose touch" with who he really is.
"The Greg Hardy that was on the field was going to be a nightmare for the opposing team," Hartsock said. "But then you go in and everybody is in the hot tub or the cold tub after practice just shooting the breeze and the guy carries on a very reasonable, level-headed inquisitive type of conversation. But then there are other times when he's just unmanageable. There are times where he would just . . . (be) frustrated with something that had happened. There were a couple of times where he was late for some meetings and things and guys would try to pull him to the side and talk some sense into him and you could just see that there was a bull-headedness to it."
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Despite Hardy’s issues, antics and alter ego, Hartsock believes his upside is worth the risk for the Cowboys.
"You don't find guys who are 6-4 and can run 4.6 and 300 pounds. Those guys don't grow on trees," Hartsock said. "He's going to be on a very, very short leash. If he screws up one more time, I believe he'll be on his way out. But I do believe he's going to get another chance and I think he deserves it."
Hardy missed all but one game last season after the Panthers placed him on the commissioner's exempt list while he faced domestic violence charges. The team still paid Hardy his full $13.1 million salary. The charges were dropped on Feb. 9 after his accuser failed to cooperate with the district attorney’s office and reached a financial settlement with Hardy.
Hardy is seeking immediate reinstatement by the league, but could still face a suspension under the NFL's personal conduct policy.