IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett loves to talk about having the right kind of guys on the Dallas Cowboys.
Most often that has been defined as choirboys with impeccable comportment, even if it is not true. At the NFL scouting combine, Garrett was asked about the right kind of guy.
“I think it’s critical,” he said. “And there’s so many different levels to that. There’s personal character, there’s football character, there’s work ethic, there’s passion for the game, all those things. And we literally grade the players on that. We grade our own players on that. We grade the players coming into the league on those things. You really have to dig and try to find out what this guy is all about, what makes him tick.
"It’s cliche to say that, but that’s really what we’re trying to do, and we all can watch them run, watch them jump, watch them throw, watch them backpedal, watch them run routes. We can see that. There’s some physical things that guys need to have but then you got to figure out what’s next. What’s behind that? How important is football to them? What kind of person is he? What’s his makeup? I just have a firm belief that the best players I’ve been around are made up of the right stuff and they have the right ability. I get that. But Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin and all those guys were elite, elite people too. They love the game. They wanted to be great players. Jason Witten, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, they’re the same way. Certainly DeMarco Murray and there’s a number of other guys on our team, Tyron Smith, I hate to even bring up names because there’s so many of them. But we believe strongly in that and you put those guys together and you do things the right way on a daily basis and that gives you a chance to win ballgames.”
The Cowboys will welcome Greg Hardy to Valley Ranch on Tuesday for a free-agent visit, a source confirmed to ESPN Insider Adam Schefter. If all goes well, the Cowboys could have a deal with the 2013 Pro Bowler.
On May 13, 2014, Hardy was arrested and charged with assaulting and threatening to kill ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder. A Mecklenburg (North Carolina) County judge found Hardy guilty on July 15. The verdict was set aside when Hardy requested a jury trial.
All charges were dropped on Feb. 9 because Holder refused to cooperate with the district attorney’s office.
In a statement explaining the decision to dismiss charges, the district attorney's office said it had "reliable information" that Holder and Hardy had reached a civil settlement and that she has "intentionally made herself unavailable to the State."
Hardy remains on the commissioner’s exempt list and could face a possible suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The Cowboys have done their background on Hardy. At the combine, several team sources were dismissive of potentially adding Hardy via free agency because of the off-field baggage.
So what has changed?
Clearly the price has changed.
As free agency hits its second week, the economics start to shift. No longer is it the players’ market. It’s the teams’ market where bargains start to become the norm.
The Cowboys have factored their need with the potential price and have deemed it worth trying to sew up a deal with Hardy.
Jerry Jones has long viewed himself as a Father Flanagan type. He has been more than willing to take chances others wouldn’t. He did it with Tank Johnson and Adam Jones in 2008. He has done it with Dimitrius Underwood and Alonzo Spellman.
In 2006, he gave another Rosenhaus client, Terrell Owens, a chance after an acrimonious departure from Philadelphia led most teams to stay away from the ultra-talented wide receiver. Owens had three productive seasons with the Cowboys, but his time did not end well.
The NFL is a talent acquisition business. Hardy is extremely talented.
If the Cowboys make this deal, then they are taking a big risk, but they will likely mitigate it with lower-than-expected money.
And that might help fit with their right-kind-of-guy motto.
ESPN.com Panthers reporter David Newton contributed to this report.