Greg Hardy may not have played his final game with the Carolina Panthers, after all. In the days since his domestic violence case was dismissed, this is what I’ve been hearing:

• Hardy has made it clear to the Panthers he wants to return. He has also started working on this list of what he’d need to do to make that happen. The first item is already checked off, and he’s apparently open to trying to fulfill the rest of the list.

• Hardy is getting some help from the locker room. Many of his teammates want him back, and some are starting to lean on Jerry Richardson. That support is coming from more players than just cornerback Josh Norman, who’s made it clear he wants Hardy back. We’re talking team leaders, guys who have Richardson’s ear. The Panthers owner has been ready to cut bait with Hardy for months, but he’s also a man willing to listen. That doesn’t mean he’ll change his mind, but he will listen.

Even with these latest happenings, it’s still unlikely Hardy returns to the Panthers next year. Richardson and others inside the building feel like they can’t trust him, but the door isn’t completely shut. Hardy still has to show contrition, not as an admittance of guilt, but as someone who realizes what his situation did to the organization in 2014. He would also have to make financial sacrifices. If and when other teams come calling with bigger offers, he’d have to put his money where his mouth is.I’ve been reporting for months that Hardy had likely played his final game in a Panthers uniform. Odds are that’s still the case, but after recent developments, there’s a chance he could have a future in Carolina.