OXNARD, Calif. -- Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy suffered a minor rib strain early on the first day of practice Thursday, according to sources, but finished the session.
The Cowboys could limit Hardy's work to make sure the injury doesn't worsen. Because of their stated goal to make it through camp without serious injuries, the Cowboys will be conservative with how much they allow injured players to work. To start camp, running back Darren McFadden was placed on the physically unable to perform list with a hamstring strain that would not keep him off the field in the regular season. McFadden went through resistance training during practice, and the team hopes he will be on the field in a week.
Given how Hardy worked in the offseason, the Cowboys might want to protect him from himself.
"To be honest with you, with Greg right from the start, he was actually going too hard," coach Jason Garrett said. "He was going too hard in the weight room and too hard on the field early on in the offseason. So he's a guy that is really committed to being the best that he can be. And I think he wants to be a part of something special. And I think he wants to come to work every day and show his teammates what he's all about in terms of his work ethic and what he can bring to our football team. I think he's shown us that right from the start, and he's someone that we really believe in that can be a real contributing factor for our football team."
Hardy has yet to decide whether to seek a further reduction of his suspension through the courts. Earlier this month, Hardy's suspension for multiple violations of the league's personal conduct policy was reduced from 10 games to four. Hardy was involved in a domestic violence incident with a former girlfriend in spring 2014, but the legal case was eventually dismissed.
Until all of Hardy's legal options have been exhausted, the team will not make him available to the media.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the team has not had any conversations with Hardy about its preference as to whether he should accept the penalty or seek a smaller one.
"Everybody out here wants every player out here to spend as much time on the field as he possibly can in the right sort of way," Jones said Wednesday. "And so automatically you just say, 'Anything that gets a player more of a chance to play, well, that's what we're in the business of doing. Getting them out there to play.' As we know, there are a lot of other extenuating circumstances. He's a player we're proud to have. We're glad it has evolved to a point where we're going to have him on the field this year and have him on the field right off the bat [in training camp and preseason] to help build this team immediately."