Dallas Cowboys sign DE Greg Hardy

Once the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bowed out of the Greg Hardy sweepstakes, the Dallas Cowboys were negotiating against themselves.

And they won.

Pro Football Talk first reported the news, which was later confirmed on the Cowboys' official website.

The Cowboys' prize: A 26-year-old pass rusher, aka "Kraken," who has 27 sacks in his past 32 NFL games. The caveat: Hardy comes with baggage, including a possible suspension from the NFL for his involvement in a domestic abuse case that sidelined him all but the opening game of the 2014 season, which led to the Carolina Panthers not attempting to re-sign their former franchise-tagged player.

It also could cost the Cowboys a dear price — the same one-year value Hardy earned last season after he signed a one-year franchise tender.

That means Hardy will be a free agent for the third straight year in 2016. Per reports of the contract details he cannot be franchised or given the transition tag next year. But the Cowboys have inserted protections into the deal in the form of a 53-man per-game roster bonus, which protects the team against a possible suspension, plus other incentives.

If Hardy can avoid a lengthy league suspension — it could be up to six games — and keep out of trouble in Dallas, he could be a star again. Hardy doesn't turn 27 until the start of training camp and is the type of pass rusher the Cowboys need to make Rod Marinelli's defense effective. The Buccaneers had interest in Hardy, and he was set to choose between the two teams, but that was before the Bucs backed off, leaving Dallas alone in its pursuit of the troubled but talented player.

Hardy was charged with assaulting and communicating threats to his then-girlfriend last summer, and he landed on the commissioner’s exempt list — with the Panthers paying the entire $13.1 million tender — for the duration of last season while the case went to trial. Although he was initially convicted on both counts in a bench trial, the charges against Hardy eventually were dropped last month in the jury trial after the accuser failed to show in court, work with prosecutors and, ultimately, testify.

Still, the NFL is expected to suspend Hardy for a minimum of four games, and perhaps up to six, given the new punishment for domestic violence that commissioner Roger Goodell handed down last season in the wake of the slew of high-profile cases around the league. Hardy remains on the commissioner’s exempt list and will need to be reinstated.

The Cowboys could have a nice defensive front with Hardy, Demarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and decent depth at a position that one year ago appeared to be a weakness.