On Friday, the San Francisco 49ers released talented yet troubled outside linebacker Aldon Smith after his fifth arrest. It was a sad moment, with Smith allegedly driving drunk once again. The former University of Missouri star appeared destined for greatness after his first two seasons, racking up a combined 33.5 sacks in his first two years, the most in NFL history over that span.
Smith’s former teammate with San Francisco, free-agent receiver Torrey Smith, spoke about Aldon’s talent level. Torrey played with the Baltimore Ravens throughout his first four seasons and got to win a Super Bowl (ironically against the 49ers) alongside defensive players such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs. On Saturday, Torrey compared Aldon to his former teammates in Baltimore, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.
"“Aldon’s one of the best football players I’ve ever been around, and I’ve been around some Hall of Famers, you know, in Baltimore,” Torrey Smith said Saturday. “His talent, no one can deny that. I just hope he gets everything together and maybe he gets another chance.“We all have problems. Everyone might not know about our problems, but we all have something that we have to deal with and, unfortunately, he’s handling his a little bit differently than you would think, or you would like to have happened. No one’s perfect and I hope he gets all the help that he needs. And, I think, the best thing of it all is that he has the support needed here, even though he’s no longer a member of the team.”"
Hopefully Smith can get the help that he needs and move onto a successful life, whether or not that involves the NFL.