Raiders release linebacker Aldon Smith.
Domestic-violence incident alleged
The Raiders released linebacker Aldon Smith on Monday, hours before San Francisco police obtained an arrest warrant for Smith stemming from an alleged domestic-violence incident over the weekend.
The San Francisco Police Department warrant alleges that Smith, 28, committed misdemeanor domestic violence, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, false imprisonment and vandalism.
The department’s Special Victim’s Unit is in talks with Smith’s attorney and arranging a time for him to surrender, police said.
Police said they were called to a residence in the 600 block of Bush Street around 8:30 p.m. Saturday by a woman who had suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The victim reportedly identified the assailant as Smith, who fled before police arrived.
Investigators were asking the public’s help in finding Smith, whom TMZ reported Monday
had checked into a rehab facility. TMZ also reported the victim in the alleged assault was Smith’s fiancee, to whom he got engaged last month.
Smith has been suspended by the NFL since 2015 for violation of its substance-abuse policy. The Raiders’ releasing of Smith, which the team announced in a one-line statement, signals potentially the end of Smith’s NFL career.
A first-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2011, Smith was released by San Francisco in August 2015 after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI, hit and run and vandalism. It was Smith’s fourth arrest, and third DUI arrest, in four years. In June 2012, Smith also was charged after illegal assault weapons were found at his house during a party at which he was stabbed and two other people were shot.
The Raiders signed Smith in September 2015, and he appeared in nine games for them before receiving a one-year suspension from the NFL in November for violating its substance-abuse policy. The Raiders nevertheless signed Smith to a two-year contract before the 2016 season. He did not play a game under that deal.
Smith’s application for reinstatement at the end of his oneyear suspension was denied by the NFL in December 2016. He spent all of last season on the league’s reserve/suspended list, though he remained on the Raiders’ roster. After Smith was released Monday, former Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio weighed in on Twitter.
“Never liked ‘league rules’ that eliminate the ability of teams to offer Aldon and others in his situation the structure they so desperately need,” Del Rio wrote.
Meanwhile, Smith continued to have run-ins with the law. In February 2017, Smith cooperated in an SFPD domestic-violence investigation. The following month, he was alleged to be riding in a car that collided with an unmarked SFPD police vehicle, injuring two officers.
Even prior to the Raiders releasing Smith, it was uncertain whether he would play again.
The seventh overall pick by the 49ers in 2011, Smith began his career on a trajectory that suggested he could become one of the most decorated pass rushers in NFL history.
He set the 49ers’ season record with 19.5 sacks in 2012, his first season as a starter, breaking the mark of 17.5 set by Fred Dean in 1983. Smith recorded 5.5 sacks in a game against the Bears — a game total topped by only four players in NFL history — and his 42 sacks in his first three seasons rank behind only Hall of Famers Reggie White (52) and Derrick Thomas (43.5).
However, 2012 was the last time Smith played a full NFL season. He missed part of the 2013 season while undergoing treatment at a rehab facility following a DUI arrest. He was suspended the first nine games of 2014 for violating the league’s substance-abuse and conduct policies.
After the 49ers released Smith in 2015, then-head coach Jim Tomsula addressed Smith’s off-the-field issues.
“What I would like to say is if one person out there reads this, and you’re struggling, get help,” Tomsula said at the time. “Go get it. You’re worth it. You’re worth it. There’s value in every human being.
“Get the help. You don’t have to walk alone. Find it. It’s there. And although Aldon will not be playing football here, we will be supporting him. He will not be alone.”