Raiders LB Aldon Smith Receives One-Year Suspension From The NFL

USA Today

The up-and-coming Oakland Raiders suffered a major blow on Tuesday. One of the team’s best defensive players will miss the rest of the season and half of the next.

According to ESPN, the NFL has suspended Aldon Smith for a year.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith has been suspended for one year without pay under the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, the league said Tuesday.

The 25-year-old linebacker was suspended due to an incident off the field back in August. ESPN provided a few details on the incident that ultimately led to the suspension.

Smith, 25, pleaded not guilty in September to misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run, drunken driving and vandalism, charges that stem from an alleged Aug. 6 incident.

After parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers, Smith’s future in the NFL seemed bleak to say the least. There was no doubting Smith’s talent with many still considering the young linebacker being one of the best players in the league at his position, but off-the-issues made teams leery of taking a chance on him.

Although was still a risky signing, and for good reason, the Raiders were willing to take the chance. Smith turned out to be worth the gamble until the league came down with the one-year suspension on Tuesday.

In nine games with the Raiders, Smith recorded 3.5 sacks and 21 tackles. Khalil Mack and Smith became a lethal one-two punch in Oakland paving the way for a potentially bright future of the Raiders defense. The Raiders brass were interested in signing Smith long-term, but it remains to be seen whether that is still the case after the suspension.