Dallas Cowboys cool their jets on Greg Hardy extension

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be backing off extension talk for defensive end Greg Hardy after a series of off-field incidents.

"Greg knows what's expected and nobody is more aware of the scrutiny and nobody is more aware, now ever more so, of what we expect of him," Jones said Tuesday during his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "The good news is we go forward. We see if we get what's expected of him, which I fully anticipate you would get. But we see how and what's expected of him and we go from there.

"We don't, and you know this, just the nature of this one, we don't as a practice, discuss detail of extending or not extending. I'll give an indication, but that's about it. So we'll leave it for that. I have no reason to think that Greg won't do what's expected of him throughout the year."

Jones previously talked about extending Hardy's contract beyond the one-year deal he signed in March.

"When we initially signed, talked to him, asked him to join the team, it was not only with the idea of the short term but a long-term purview," Jones said on Oct. 27. "He's, relatively speaking, a young player, and he certainly has the kinds of skills and impact that we want to look to the future with with the Cowboys."

Head coach Jason Garrett refused this week to address reports that Hardy missed most of the morning meetings last Thursday before the 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers.

But Garrett said the Cowboys remain behind Hardy and have no regrets about his presence on the team, despite a string of distractions since his controversial arrival because of his involvement in a domestic violence incident against his former girlfriend.

Hardy's late arrival to meetings came a day after he briefly changed his Twitter profile claiming his innocence in a domestic violence incident in May 2014 while he was with the Carolina Panthers. He was initially found guilty by a North Carolina judge but then asked for a jury trial. Charges were eventually dropped because his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, refused to cooperate with the district attorney. Hardy reportedly reached a civil settlement with Holder, which prompted her to not show up for the jury trial.

Hardy, however, was suspended for the first four games of the season because of the incident and for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. Garrett acknowledged last week that he talked to Hardy about his Twitter bio. The Cowboys have had to address at least four off-field incidents with Hardy since they signed him.

Photos showing bruises and abrasions on the body of Holder were published recently by Deadspin. The Cowboys claim they did not see the pictures before signing Hardy to a one-year, $11.3 million deal, even though the NFL acknowledged seeing the graphic evidence during its own investigation.

Jones sidestepped questions about Hardy being tardy to meetings last week.

"Candidly, directly, I haven't seen the report on who got fined last week and who didn't, regarding attendance or regarding being on time," Jones said Tuesday. "It's standard operating procedure for all clubs in the NFL. You have a fine sheet. It's at the discretion of the coach.

"But this is pro football, and the way if people's phone goes off in the meeting, if they're late for a meeting, if they don't come to a meeting, there is a fine list and we've had players fined, numerous players fined, 24-25 years out there. That has been going on. So, I don't want to single him out because I couldn't tell you if last week we had four or five other people late that might get fines. Sometimes those fines, it'll be addressed, but those fines won't follow for a couple of weeks."