Oakland Raiders take a shot on troubled pass rusher Aldon Smith
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/oakland-raiders-take-a-shot-on-troubled-pass-rusher-aldon-smith-162829047.html
It has been a while since we've gotten to talk about the Oakland Raiders taking on someone with a shady past.
Aldon Smith's talent was too hard to ignore. The elite pass rusher was cut by the San Francisco 49ers after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI in August, something of which he has had a problem. Smith denied it was a DUI but the 49ers had seen enough. The Raiders will give him a shot though.
Bleacher Report, NFL Network and ESPN all reported that the Raiders are signing Smith to a one-year deal. The Raiders were once the NFL's home for discarded renegades, and many of those moves worked out well back when. Smith has the on-field ability to work out. He has 44 sacks in four seasons including a 19.5-sack season in 2012.
Smith's off-field issues make him a gamble — though really the only gamble is public perception, because on a one-year deal the Raiders aren't investing much. Smith was arrested in last month for a hit and run, DUI, and vandalism. Previously, he was arrested in Sept. of 2013 on drunk driving charges. He missed five games in 2013 after his DUI arrest when he checked into a substance abuse rehabilitation clinic. He also faced felony gun charges, though those were knocked down to misdemeanors. In 2014 he told a TSA agent at Los Angeles International Airport that he had a bomb, but no charges were brought in that case.
Good luck with that!
= new reply since forum marked as read
