NFL

Seahawks cut Aldon Smith over off-field matter

Aldon Smith’s recurring off-the-field issues have once again derailed his NFL career.

On Wednesday, the Seahawks waived Smith, 31, just four months after signing the defensive end to a one-year contract. The decision was a non-football-related manner, with a source telling ESPN that Smith violated the organization’s trust.

Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith AP

In April, less than a week after signing with Seattle, Smith surrendered to charges of second-degree battery in Louisiana and was released on bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 24.

Smith quickly established himself as one of the league’s most prolific pass rushers with the 49ers, setting an NFL record with 33.5 sacks across his first two seasons. Since then, a myriad of alcohol and legal issues have marred his career.

Smith missed four consecutive seasons, from 2016 to 2019, because of two separate suspensions — the first stemming from a DUI and hit-and-run incident in 2015, and the second a result of a domestic violence incident in 2018. After being reinstated by the league last May, Smith appeared in all 16 games for the Cowboys during the 2020 season, recording five sacks.

In July, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll spoke about the support system that the organization had in place for Smith.

“We really sense that the more we can support him, the more, obviously, we can be there for him, the stronger it makes him,” Carroll said. “So that’s really what our intent is here.”