Aldon Smith
Defensive end/outside linebacker Aldon Smith has all of the physical talent necessary to make him one of the best edge rushers to ever play in the National Football League. In 50 games in the NFL, Smith has 44 sacks. In 2011, Smith was a first round pick of the San Francisco 49ers. That season Smith totaled 14 sacks and he was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Smith followed that up in 2012 by being selected as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year as he amassed 19.5 sacks in helping the 49ers win the NFC Championship. Smith has made light work of offensive tackles who have tried to stop him, but his biggest opponent is the one that he sees when he looks into the mirror everyday.
As talented as Smith is on the football field, he has been that troubled off of it. Since 2012, Smith has been involved in several altercations ranging from multiple driving under the influence charges to being detained by TSA agents at Los Angeles International Airport in April 2014. Last week, Smith was arrested in Santa Clara, California on chargers stemming from an alleged hit and run, driving under the influence, and vandalism chargers, which culminated in him being released by the 49ers.
Since drafting Smith in 2011, the Niners have repeatedly attempted to work with him on his off-the-field issues. In 2013, Smith voluntarily checked himself into a rehabilitation facility which obviously hasn’t worked. National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Smith for the first nine games of the 2014 NFL season and this time around you can expect the commissioner to suspend the troubled pass rusher for an entire season. And to make matters worse for Smith, 2015 will more than likely mark the second consecutive year in which he doesn’t earn a dime for playing football. In 2014, due to Smith’s suspension, taxes, and a bonus forfeiture to the Niners, Smith played football for free. There is also the possibility that Smith could face jail time being that he is currently on probation for three years stemming from an incident in 2012 as he appears to be a graduate from the Adam “Pacman” Jones school of stupidity.
After Smith’s recent arrest, Niners general manager Trent Baalke paid him a visit. And as Smith was unapologetic nor contrite over the matter, Baalke was left with no choice but to pull the plug on the troubled pass rusher’s career in San Francisco as the old adage once again pops up that teams win with “character” guys.
Smith now finds himself in a dubious club of NFL players that have thrown away a golden opportunity that has been presented to them due to the fact that they didn’t know how to behave off of the field. On the field, players such as Smith always believe that they are in control, but he needs to find a way to get his life in control away from football as at this point he is simply a menace to himself. Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Haley has reached out to Smith in order to help him while the NFL and the 49ers front office have tried to put their arms around him and support him while at times they’ve also had to drop the hammer on him. Smith’s history of off-the-field issues won’t sway all of the remaining 31 NFL teams from taking a look at him as it only takes one team, but it will be some time until he hears his phone ring because teams are expecting him to be suspended by the league or worse; a jail sentence. And although Smith refuses to take responsibility for his recent arrest, regardless, he was the one who put himself in that situation. One is an accident and two is a trend, and the trend of seeing Smith having to post bail after taking mugshots if happening too often. There’s nothing more that the NFL or the Niners can do for Smith as it is simply time for him to man up and take responsibility for his own actions.
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