Greg Hardy, meet Ray Rice.
For much of the 2015 NFL season, the coverage surrounding the embattled Dallas Cowboys defensive end's every move lent a rationale for the other 31 NFL teams not to mess with the ex-Ravens running back whose video showing him punch his future wife has made him an NFL pariah.
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But now it appears Hardy is suffering from the same guise of a ban that has handcuffed Rice: Their last seasons on the field don't warrant a team taking a chance on them.
"Ray Rice didn't fail to get a second chance in the NFL just because of what he did off the field," Sporting News reported. "He also didn't have much left to offer on the field.
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"Greg Hardy is starting to know how that feels.
"Despite early highlights -- two sacks against the Patriots, a sack against the Giants and an interception against the Seahawks - Hardy mostly was a non-impact player in Dallas. And a headache. He reportedly wasn't well conditioned or a good teammate, and that combination wore on the coaching staff."
And it wasn't as if the Cowboys had to outbid other teams for his services last season, Sporting News added. His failed audition in Dallas will dissuade any other teams looking for a 4-3 scheme defensive end, based on his play.
The difference between Hardy's situation and Rice's is that Hardy should have known this year was his make-or-break situation and basically watched it circle down the drain.
Rice had bulked up in 2013 in an attempt to withstand the pounding and ended up having an awful season with 610 rushing yards, the fewest yards, by far, of his six-year career. He was in the process of losing that extra weight when put his career in jeopardy in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino in 2014.
Perhaps, current NFL players will learn from the plights of both players.
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