Greg Hardy A Potential Free Agent Target For The Bengals?

On Wednesday, Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders suggested in his AFC North โ€œBold Movesโ€œ article (Insider) that the Bengals should consider the idea of signing free agent DE Greg Hardy.

Coley Harvey of ESPN agrees that the Bengals signing Hardy โ€œmakes too much senseโ€ given that they produced just 20 sacks in all of 2014.

On top of that, Pro Football Focus has Cincinnati rated as the worst pass-rushing team in the NFL by a huge margin.

Hardy excels in this department and would seemingly be a perfect addition to the Bengalsโ€™ defensive line.

However, Harvey writes that character concerns and a possible suspension stemming from his involvement in a domestic violence incident are reason enough for the Bengals to think twice about signing him to a contract.

โ€œWith the uncertainty around Hardy there is no reason for the Bengals to take the risk on the 26-year-old lineman,โ€ writes Harvey.

Hardy, 26, will be an unrestricted free agent for the second straight season. Last year, the Panthers used their franchise tag on the defensive end, which paid him a salary of $13.116 million for the 2014 season.

To use the designation on Hardy for the second straight season, it would cost the Panthers close to $15.7 million guaranteed, so there appears to be a very good chance that heโ€™ll be fielding offers from prospective teams in the next few weeks.

Hardy wound up appearing in just one game and recorded four tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble before he was placed on the commissioners expect list.

We have Hard listed as the No. 7 player in our Top 75 Free Agents list.

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