on march 6, 2003, he signed a four-year, $14 million usd contract with the cincinnati bengals as an unrestricted free agent, to be the bengals new middle linebacker, after playing outside linebacker in his previous seasons. hardy was an integral part of the bengals' defense, starting all 16 games, leading the team in defensive snaps played (1,030 of 1,038 for 99.2%) and was second on the team in tackles (91).