Former NFL Star Pass-Rusher Sentenced To 12 Months In Prison

| American Football | 04/08/2023

Story by Mitchell Forde

Legal trouble continues to follow former NFL pass-rusher Aldon Smith.

Smith was sentenced to one year in jail on Friday, according to TMZ Sports. The sentence results from a felony DUI charge against Smith stemming from a 2021 incident in California.

Smith was remanded into custody following his hearing and will begin serving his sentence immediately, per TMZ. He has also been given five years of supervised probation.

Smith’s off-field issues have long since derailed a once-promising football career. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Smith racked up 14.5 sacks as a rookie for the San Francisco 49ers and 19.5 the following season, earning first-team All Pro honors.

However, he wouldn’t play a full season again until eight years later. Smith sat out the entire 2016-2019 seasons due to suspension after multiple arrests.

Smith made a comeback in 2020 with the Dallas Cowboys and played well, making 48 tackles and five sacks. He then signed with the Seattle Seahawks the following offseason, but was released before he could play another game due to “breach of trust.”

The charges against Smith stem from an incident in which he rear-ended a vehicle that was stopped at a stop sign in Redwood City, causing injury to the other driver. Police say he appeared intoxicated, had marijuana in his pockets and empty bottles of liquor in his car. He had been facing up to 16 months in prison after cutting a deal with prosecutors.

Read original article in Athlon Sports.