In an attempt to upgrade their defensive line, the Dallas Cowboys could be closing in on a deal with the top free agent left on the market, defensive end Greg Hardy.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus said early Wednesday that Hardy, who was in Dallas all day on Tuesday to meet with the Cowboys front office and staff, is likely to choose today between offers from the Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the free agent defender remained in Dallas overnight to take a Wednesday morning physical, which could be a precursor to his signing a contract with the Cowboys.

The 26-year-old Hardy established himself as one of the league’s best pass rushers for the Carolina Panthers in the first four years of his career, before a domestic violence arrest in May of 2014 clouded his future. During the arrest, Hardy was charged with assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder. He was convicted on those charges by a North Carolina judge in July, but Hardy invoked his right to request a jury trial.

The charges against him were ultimately dismissed in February of this year after Holder refused to assist prosecutors with the case. The Charlotte district attorney’s office cited reliable information that Hardy and Holder had reached a civil settlement to close the case.

As a result of the charges he was facing at the time, Hardy played just one game for the Panthers in 2014, the season opener. Carolina deactivated him for their Week 2 game and he was later placed on the commissioner’s exempt list for the final 14 games of the regular season and all of the postseason. He remains on that list now, pending a review of his case by the league office, and faces a suspension of up to six games in 2015 for a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Though his off the field issues provide legitimate reason for teams to be wary and have unquestionably diluted his free agent market, there’s no denying the talent on the field. The five-year pro has compiled 34 sacks in his career and was named second team All-Pro after a 15-sack season in 2013.

Adding Hardy would be a definitive upgrade to the Dallas defense. Despite the departure of two of their best pass rushers — defensive end DeMarcus Ware and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher — prior to the 2014 season, the Cowboys ranked middle of the pack in total defense last season. However, their pass rush left a lot to be desired as they had the fifth fewest sacks in the league (28) and their inability to get to the quarterback often left their undermanned secondary exposed. Incumbent Dallas defensive ends Anthony Spencer and George Selvie are both free agents this offseason.

If the Cowboys sign Hardy, they should certainly expect to be without him for the first couple of games of the 2015 season, if not the first six, as the league continues its strong stance in cracking down on domestic violence offenders. But in the long term, the signing of Hardy — to pair with 22-year-old defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who emerged late last season as an impact rookie — could make for a formidable front line in Dallas for years to come, provided Hardy can stay out of trouble in the future.

RICHARDSON GETS FRESH CHANCE IN OAKLAND

Despite his current status as one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft history, it didn’t take recently released running back Trent Richardson long to find work.

Less than a week after being cut by the Indianapolis Colts, Richardson signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday. In Oakland, he’ll replace another first round running back bust, Darren McFadden, who signed with Dallas last week.

Richardson was third overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and showed flashes as a rookie, rushing for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns, though he averaged a mediocre 3.6 yards per carry. After a rocky training camp with Richardson in 2013, the Browns quickly grew tired of the running back and just two weeks into the regular season sent him to Indianapolis for a first round pick (26th overall) in the 2014 draft.

Following the trade, Richardson played in all 14 of the remaining regular season games for the Colts, but started just eight and saw his numbers tick down in his second NFL season. He averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 157 rushing attempts with Indianapolis, and caught just 28 passes for another 265 yards. By the end of the 2013 season, he had fallen so far out of favor that he barely got on the field in the postseason. He touched the ball just once for no gain in the team’s wild card round win over the Kansas City Chiefs and three times for one yard in their divisional round loss to the New England Patriots.

The trade didn’t work out so well for the Browns either. They subsequently traded Indianapolis’ 2014 first rounder and their own third rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 22nd overall pick, which they used to select quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Despite the poor results from Richardson in 2013, the Colts did not address the position in the 2014 offseason and went into the season with Richardson as their starter. But it didn’t take long for the running back to again fall out of favor, and by the end of the season he’d lost his job to Daniel Herron. Richardson didn’t get a touch in the team’s wild card round playoff game, was inactive for their divisional round game and then — after missing a walkthrough to be with his pregnant wife at the hospital — was suspended for the AFC Championship Game. He has since filed a grievance for that suspension.

This offseason the Colts made it clear with their maneuverings that they were moving on from Richardson. They prioritized the running back position as free agency opened and eventually signed veteran Frank Gore. The release of Richardson was a mere formality after that. Richardson told ESPN.com after his release that Indianapolis was simply a poor for for his skillset.

“I was expecting this. It just didn’t work out. I’m not saying anything bad about the program, but that program just didn’t fit me at all. Me and the GM didn’t see eye to eye. It was a bad marriage for us,” he said. “I’ll be one of the top running backs from here on out. They ruled Marshawn Lynch off in his third year. Look at what he’s doing now. My next stop, I’ll be the starter. I still have my pride, and I know who I am.”

The surprising part wasn’t that Richardson was cut, but how quickly he found another job in Oakland.

The Raiders did lose two of the three members of their 2014 backfield this month when McFadden signed in Dallas and Maurice Jones-Drew retired. But Oakland does still have Latavius Murray, a 2015 breakout candidate after he rushed for 424 yards on just 82 carries (5.2 yards per carry) last season. Murray has earned the right to start for the Raiders in 2015, but when asked about his role in Oakland in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Richardson once again made clear his intention to be the starting running back.

“If a guy is coming in and doesn’t expect to be a starter, why is that guy here? For me, I expect to be a starter wherever I’m at. I just can’t wait for the opportunity,” he said. “I know what they expect and how they’re going to spread the field, putting me in a position to be successful. Talking to Coach, he just said there is just a lot of opportunity out here. He said he isn’t going to promise me anything, but if I come in and work, I can be that bell cow.”

BILLS EXTEND OFFER TO CLAY, DOLPHINS CAN MATCH

When the Miami Dolphins signed Jordan Cameron last week, it was assumed by many that meant the end of Charles Clay’s tenure with the team. The monster offer sheet he signed with the Buffalo Bills only increased the likelihood of Clay’s Miami exit.

Prior to signing Cameron, the Dolphins placed the transition tag on Clay, giving them a chance to match any offer extended to the free agent tight end. On Tuesday an offer finally came in, when the Buffalo Bills signed Clay to a five-year offer sheet valued at $38 million with $20 million in guaranteed money, according to the Buffalo News. Miami now has five days to match the offer or let Clay walk to division rival Buffalo.

After two middling seasons to start his career in Miami, the 2011 sixth-round pick broke out in a big way for the Dolphins in 2013, catching 69 passes for 759 yards and six touchdowns while starting 15 of 16 games. His numbers ticked down slightly last season as teams keyed in on him as a focal point of the Miami passing attack, but in 14 games he still caught 58 passes for 605 yards and three scores.

The Dolphins initially made retaining Clay a priority this offseason by placing the rarely used transition tag on him. The tag would have paid Clay just over $7 million for the 2015 season. But the transition tag, which affords the tagging team the chance to match any offer but carries with it no compensation should the team elect not to match, was not enough to discourage Buffalo from pursuing the free agent tight end.

As flirtations between the Bills and Clay waged on in the days after free agency opened, Miami moved to secure themselves at the tight end by signing Cameron to a two-year, $15 million deal.

The Dolphins were said to have some interest in also retaining Clay to bolster their pass-catching group with a formidable tight end duo, but they’ll now have to pony up considerably more than they expected to make that happen. Miami still has enough money under the cap to match Buffalo’s offer, but after the team’s offseason spending spree — highlighted by the six year, $114 million contract with $60 million in guaranteed money given to defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh — it seems unlikely Miami would spend so much on a second tight end. But stranger things have happened, and the Dolphins have five days to decide.