Seattle Seahawks to release Aldon Smith

The Seattle Seahawks will release Aldon Smith, according to a report by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Smith was signed by the Seahawks in April but arrested a week later for second degree battery. Pete Carroll recently said the team will give the 31-year-old every chance to succeed, so it is unclear what led to his release. Smith is due to appear in court this month.

The very fact that Smith was on an NFL field in 2020 and played at a relatively high level was noteworthy given his troubled career and personal life. With Smith on his way to becoming one of the most heralded pass-rushers of his generation in the NFL, Smith served multiple bans on drug and legal issues and missed a full four seasons of suspension. But after bottoming out, Smith began to turn his life around and was eventually reinstated by the NFL in May last year.

Smith had a hot start to the season, particularly in a three-sack performance against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. Though it later cooled off, Smith ended up with a respectable statistic for a 31-year-old who had been out of football for years . In 16 games, Smith had 48 combined tackles (five for loss) with five sacks, 14 quarterback hits, two forged passes, and two fumble recoveries, including one with 78 yards for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.

The focus on Seattle’s defense is now with Jamal Adams. The Star Security “holds out” which means he is at Seahawks’ training camp but not training until he is given a new contract. Carroll updated these conversations when he spoke to the media late last month.

“He’s got a lot of questions,” Carroll said. “Shoulder surgery and he had both hands operated on, so he has some stuff that he would be working on anyway. He gets a job here. He wouldn’t be working yet so it’s fine now. He’s out there for the walkthrough. He’s in the meetings and all that stuff. He does everything. “

Carroll also provided an update on Adams’ contract situation and expressed optimism that both sides will be able to work out an extension.

“He’s in a good place” Carroll said. “So far they have worked really hard. I am very confident that it will be done here soon, very soon. “

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The Seahawks will try to recover from a somewhat disappointing season. The team was upset at home by the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round of the playoffs. They’ll start this quest in just over a month from today when they travel against the Indianapolis Colts at 1:00 p.m. ET on September 12.

Chance Linton contributed to this report.