Greg Hardy's domestic violence appeal trial, originally scheduled to begin Nov. 17, was officially pushed back to early 2015, the Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Courthouse announced Tuesday.
No new specific date was given.
"The State is currently trying a capital murder case, which began on Sept. 16 and is expected to continue at least through the end of this month," the courthouse said. "This matter has taken longer than expected, and another homicide trial is set to begin on Nov. 17, limiting the number of available courtrooms. The District Attorney's Office must now adjust the dockets in several courtrooms, affecting multiple cases that has been scheduled for coming weeks. These changes will affect the Domestic Violence Team's cases scheduled for the week of Nov. 17. A number of matters must be continued."
A source confirmed to ESPN's Ed Werder last week that Hardy, the star Panthers defensive end, is looking into the possibility of immediate reinstatement to play for Carolina with the trial date continued until after the season and there have been discussions on the topic.
However, there's one potentially insurmountable problem: Hardy agreed to be placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List, knowing he would be ineligible to play but paid his full $13 million salary until his legal issues were adjudicated. His legal questions are not scheduled to be resolved until after the season, but that possibility apparently wasn't a condition addressed in the agreement.
Hardy was arrested and charged with assaulting and threatening ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder in May. He played in the first game, but was placed on the inactive list before the second game after Ray Rice was released by Baltimore the day a video of his assaulting his wife was released.
Hardy went on the inactive list the following Wednesday.
Information from ESPN.com Panthers reporter David Newton was used in this report.