Report: Colts Interested in Greg Hardy

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole took a break from trolling people on twitter about Darrelle Revis long enough to share what he's (reportedly) been hearing around the NFL regarding Panthers pass rusher Greg Hardy, and Cole mentions that the Colts are expected to be one of the teams interested in Hardy as a free agent.

Cole noted that Hardy is likely to have a meeting with the NFL tomorrow and find out whether or not there will be a suspension, and that there are a number of teams interested in the soon-to-be free agent:

"In talking to a source close to Greg Hardy, there's probably going to be a hearing tomorrow again with the NFL, probably not in New York but the NFL is going to let Greg Hardy know if there's going to be a suspension or not and they'll see if they can get something resolved in terms of a negotiation.  After the fact, once they've figured that out, expect that the top five teams that are going to be looking at Greg Hardy are: number one, San Francisco, number two, Atlanta, number three, Jacksonville, four, Tennessee, and five, Indianapolis.  Now those are not in any order but those are the five teams that have sort of projected themselves out from the rest of the NFL.  There are some other teams on that list that are interested in the guy who's probably the number one most talented pass rusher who is available in free agency right now, but obviously has some strings attached."

Hardy spent the last five seasons with the Panthers, where he developed into a top pass rushing threat.  He has recorded 204 tackles, 34 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and 15 passes defensed in his career and in 2012 he notched 11 sacks while then recording 15 sacks in 2013.  In 2014, however, he played just one game in the 2014 season (recording one sack) due to being placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List over charges of domestic violence and assault.  The charges against him were dropped earlier this year, but according to ESPN the NFL has found enough evidence to warrant a suspension.  So Hardy can sign with a team in free agency, but he might be suspended.

According to Cole, he'll likely find out whether or not a suspension is coming by tomorrow, which will help him as he enters free agency in negotiating a deal.  Cole mentions the five main teams interested in Hardy (the 49ers, Falcons, Jaguars, Titans, and Colts), and interestingly three of the five are in the AFC South.  The Colts could certainly use pass rush help and Hardy is certainly the best pure pass rush talent on the market.  There are plenty of questions with Hardy, however - certainly off the field but also on the field when it comes to the Colts, and mainly as it pertains to how Hardy would fit in with the Colts' 3-4 system.  These questions of system-fit reportedly made the Colts "pause" in their pursuit of Ndamukong Suh, who will end up with the Dolphins when free agency starts (and who Cole reported the Colts were pursuing very much, by the way).  It would make sense that the Colts would have similar questions about system-fit with Hardy, though perhaps the smaller investment and huge need at pass rush might cause them to overlook those concerns.