Pro Bowl Defensive End Greg Hardy Is a Free Man, and About to Be a Free Agent

Greg Hardy is a free man.

Forget, if you can, the harrowing details of his alleged assault of his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder. Forget, if you can, that a judge found him guilty before his case went to a jury trial. Forget, if you can, that Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer reported prosecution got "reliable info" that Hardy settled with Holder in exchange for her not cooperating with prosecution.

Greg Hardy is a 6'4", 275-pound, 26-year-old pass-rusher who racked up 30 sacks in three years as a primary starter. His 15-sack 2013 season brought a Pro Bowl nomination, a 12-win season for his Carolina Panthers and an awesome nickname: "The Kraken."

Now that he's bought his release from a North Carolina courtroom, it will be a long time before football fans with a conscience can take joy in him or his spectacular play.

The reality is, he's too rare a talent at too premium a position to be unemployed. Set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 10, ESPN.com's David Newton reports the Panthers are unlikely to re-sign him.

Back in November, head coach Ron Rivera told Newton that Hardy's future in Carolina was very much up in the air.

"We'll see," he said. "That's all a part of the evaluation process. It's also of a part of dealing with the salary cap and all those other issues that come up with guys that are free agents."

The only thing standing between Hardy and his next team is commissioner Roger Goodell. Still on the commissioner's exempt list, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, Hardy is waiting for Goodell to review his legal proceedings and rule on his status for 2015. Given Hardy's legal proceedings failed to proceed, it's hard to imagine Hardy isn't eligible to play some portion of this season. Per Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, the NFL is unlikely to dole out any additional punishment. 

What makes Hardy so special, you ask? What does he have to offer the team(s) willing to overlook the shadow trailing behind him?

Hardy's 2013 season earned the second-best Pro Football Focus grade of any 4-3 defensive end. He ranked fourth in pass-rush productivity and fourth in run-stop percentage. Hardy played primarily on the right but took significant snaps on the left, too; his versatility makes his rare combination of size and off-the-line power even more dangerous.

Hardy started the first game of the 2014 season with the charges still pending. Massive public backlash to the NFL's handling of Ray Rice's domestic violence case made the entire NFL re-evaluate its approach, and the Panthers sidelined Hardy soon after.

In Hardy's only game of 2014—for which, Pro Football Talk's Darin Gantt noted, he was paid $13.1 million—Hardy recorded a sack, a quarterback hit, a hurry and two tackles, both for offensive stops, per PFF.

Let's take a closer look at what Hardy can do.

NFC Game Rewind

Here's the sack, a third-quarter 1st-and-10. Hardy is lined up at right end over Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Brandon Myers. If the Bucs think Myers can block Hardy one-on-one, well, they're wrong:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

A feint inside and a quick swim move, and Hardy is immediately past Myers. Moreover, he's gotten Myers' hands off him. What's really interesting here: This is play action. From Hardy's perspective, this looks like a run to the other side of the field—but since Myers is pass-blocking him one-on-one, Hardy never falls for it. Instead, he gets upfield:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Left tackle Anthony Collins, assigned to double-team the defensive tackle, peels back to see Hardy coming around free of Myers. Collins barrels into Hardy, who has a surprise ready.

Hardy hits the brakes, sets his feet and drives his shoulder and arm into Collins' chest, in a sort of club move. Then, with Collins off-balance, he spins back inside while Collins tries to grab hold. Myers arrives in the middle, but Hardy's spin uses Myers' momentum against him.

Incredibly, Hardy sheds both Bucs blockers at once and ends up with a clean shot at Bucs quarterback Josh McCown. From another angle, it looks a little something like this:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Hardy closes in an instant and smoothly tomahawks the ball out of McCown's hand while squashing him flat.

Despite the Bucs' committing two defenders to stop Hardy, he used his size, quickness, power and variety of moves to come up with a monster sack anyway.

Who could use a player like Hardy? Every team in the NFL, frankly. However, there are a few obvious fits in terms of on-field system, roster need and cap space.

The Atlanta Falcons' new head coach is former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who loves to flex around big, fast ends like Hardy to either side of the line (and even inside, to defensive tackle). The Falcons had been playing a hybrid alignment, with Kroy Biermann miscast as an outside pass-rusher. Hardy would be a massive upgrade. The Falcons have $19.1 million in cap space, per Spotrac.com.

After the 2013 season, the Cincinnati Bengals let top pass-rusher Michael Johnson leave for Tampa Bay—and while Johnson wasn't a 15-sack beast before or after his departure, it left an otherwise stout defense without any kind of around-the-corner threat. Not only do the notoriously spendthrift Bengals have a whopping $31.4 million in cap space, they're equally notorious for giving playmakers with troublesome pasts a warm welcome.

The Oakland Raiders are desperate to accomplish two things in this free-agency period: Acquire impact defensive linemen and spend up to the CBA-mandated salary floor. Should they swing and miss on Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, they'll have $50.1 million free to drop on Hardy.

Just how much money will Hardy command? It's hard to say.

The market will be set by two incredible free-agent talents, two players who are arguably the best in the business at what they do: Suh is looking for more than J.J. Watt's six-year, $100 million deal. Justin Houston may not hit the free-agent market, but a player coming off a 22-sack season would surely garner much more than Hardy.

The 2013 pass-rusher free-agent class didn't have many players like Hardy in it. Many were pass-rushing tackles, inside-outside guys or schematic tweeners like Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware—both of whom got three-year, $30 million deals. Jared Allen is a comparable player, but his four-year, $32 million contract reflected his advanced age and declining production.

The best comparison might be Johnson: His five-year, $43.8 million contract came on the heels of a season where he generated lots of pressure and played the run well but registered only 3.5 sacks. Hardy will likely get a shorter deal because of his off-field risk, but $9 million per year sounds about right. Three years at $27 million or four years at $35 million should get it done.

For some fans and teams, Hardy's past makes him persona non grata. For many others, no conviction means no problem; Hardy's alleged domestic violence incident should be considered only in the light of whether he's a risk to do it again.

What he can do on the football field, though, is indisputable. Unless Roger Goodell risks the wrath of the NFLPA by holding off Hardy's reinstatement for no other reason than PR optics, Hardy is free to ply his trade for whichever team wants him—and a lot of teams want him.