Greg Hardy Reportedly Upset Aldon Smith Received A New Contract

Jason Cole of B/R, citing a source close to free agent DE Greg Hardy, reports that Hardy was upset with the contract signed by Aldon Smith with the Raiders, given that he’s had so many off-the-field issues in the past.

Cole adds that Hardy’s camp still expects him to receive an incentive-laden contract at some point. However, he hasn’t generated substantial interest up to this point and the offers he’s reportedly received haven’t been very strong.

According to Cole, the main issue as to why there has been so little interest in Hardy isn’t due to the domestic violence incident he settled out of court. Instead, Cole’s sources have said that NFL teams don’t trust him based on the stories they’ve heard from his time with the Cowboys, which included partying throughout the season.

There has been little to no buzz regarding Hardy since free agency opened close to a month ago, and his recent decision to sit down for an interview with ESPN didn’t cast him in a positive light.

It’s actually surprising to hear that teams have discussed a contract with him, even though he is by far the best available pass rusher at this point in free agency.

Hardy, 27, signed a one-year contract worth $11.3 million with the Cowboys that included weekly bonuses as a way to protect the team from him missing a number of games. The contract also contained another $1.8044 million sack-based incentives.

In 2015, Hardy appeared in 12 games and recorded 35 tackles, six sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass defense for the Cowboys. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 17 defensive end out of 48 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Best Available Free Agents list.