Greg Hardy’s trial has been set again. According to Michael Gordon of the Charlotte Observer, the trial is now set for February 9th, 2015. He will before a jury this time and not solely a judge.
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Hardy had been convicted by a judge before the Panthers season for domestic violence, but had appealed to a jury trial. For a while it looked like Hardy might actually play this season, with the Panthers suiting him up for Tampa Bay. However the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson situations intervened and the Panthers followed the Peterson precedent by putting Hardy on the Commissioner’s exempt list to stop him from being a distraction. Hardy was given the franchise tag before the year and made 13 million this season not playing.
The Panthers were up and down in dealing with Hardy’s absence. The defensive line had to adjust without him there, but they seemed to figure it out. By the end of the season the Panthers defense was once again playing at a high level. They held the Arizona Cardinals to the lowest yardage total in a playoff game and held Seattle to a hundred rushing yards.
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The development of the Panthers defense probably spells the end of Hardy’s time here. There is no knowing how his trial will turn out. Even if he is acquitted, the Panthers probably do not want to commit the amount of money that they would need to him. This is particularly true with Cam Newton needing a new deal worthy of a franchise quarterback.
Would the Panthers have played better this season with Hardy? Probably. There were not have been the defensive line transition. The problems in the secondary might not have arisen, but the secondary needed the overhaul anyway. Yet it is hard to believe that Hardy would have done better than NFC South Champions. Maybe there would have been one or two more wins, but the road would ultimately looked the same.