As the NFL season moves into Week 5, many familiar faces are returning to NFL rosters from their four-game suspensions, including Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
However, the most notable of those names might be Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy, who will return to the field for the first time Sunday since Sept. 2014 after sitting out most of last season in Carolina while on the Commissioner's Exempt List. Speaking with the media Tuesday, Hardy expressed a deep desire to get down to business with his new team in Dallas and start over.
"In the last two seasons, it's been a blur," Hardy said, per The Dallas Morning News. "Now that I'm back, I don't reminisce. I don't look back. I need to get to progress.
"I hope I come out guns blazing. ... I'm very excited to get out there and see what I can do."
When asked if he'd like his relationship with the Cowboys to last longer than the 12 games left on his contract, he added, "I hope it lasts 12 years. ... I feel like this is the most awesome period of my life. I'm a Dallas Cowboy."
When asked how he views facing Brady in his debut, Hardy replied, "The same way I did last time I saw him, hopefully on the ground."
Hardy was initially handed down a 10-game suspension following an investigation by the league into Hardy's domestic violence incident last year involving ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder. However, the suspension was reduced to four games in July by an independent arbitrator.
Before the reduction, Hardy was signed by the Cowboys to an incentive-laden one-year deal, in which more than $11 million of the $13.1 million owed comes in the form of per-game roster and workout bonuses.
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys brass will finally get to see on Sunday if their risky investment was worth it.
