San Francisco 49ers bracing for 6-8 game suspension for Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, one day earlier than planned, as the San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker is set to receive a substantial form of discipline from the league for his numerous off-the-field incidents in the past few months.
According to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, the team is bracing for the dynamic pass rusher to be suspended for as much as half the season.
Source: 49ers do not know verdict of potential NFL discipline for Aldon Smith, but they're bracing for 6 to 8 games.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 8, 2014
This coincides with a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on July 31 who reported the former No. 7 overall pick out of Missouri in the loaded 2011 NFL Draft is facing a “significant” suspension.
San Francisco’s first six games are at Dallas, vs. Chicago, at Arizona, vs. Philadelphia, vs. Kansas City, at St. Louis and at Denver. The bye week is in Week 7 and then the 49ers host St. Louis in the eighth game. If Smith is suspended for as much as eight games, he will return for the Nov. 9 game at New Orleans.
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Smith, 24, has been trouble for opposing offensive tackles to corral on the football field and he has been every bit as difficult to corral off it during his NFL career.
He has been stabbed and done a stint in rehab already in his first three years in the league and is currently facing felony gun charges after being arrested for a DUI in the past year. Smith is not facing charges for the most infamous off-field incident when he made a bomb threat at LAX airport.
Smith remains in the long-term plans for San Francisco, however, after the club exercised the fifth-year option on him prior to the deadline to pick up the option earlier this spring
In 2014, Smith had 34 tackles and 8.5 sacks last year, a career-low, but when he is staying out of trouble and focused on football, there may not be a better pure pass-rusher in the NFL than the former Missouri standout who has 42 career sacks in 43 games.