Seahawks add defensive end Aldon Smith to their pass rush

Turns out the Seahawks weren’t done building their pass rush for the 2021 season.

Related: Why it would be huge for Seahawks if they add Aldon Smith

Seattle has signed one-time All-Pro defensive end Aldon Smith to a reported one-year deal, according to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. The addition comes just a day after Smith was said to have visited the Seahawks.

The Seahawks announced the move around noon Thursday.

The 31-year-old Smith is coming off a successful comeback season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 in which he made five sacks and started all 16 games.

💥💥💥 @AldonSmith #DALvsLAR on @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/6ivvFPMK1P

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 14, 2020

Smith had missed the previous four years due to suspensions stemming from a long list of legal and substance abuse issues but returned to the league last year after getting sober.

Smith was considered one of the best in the NFL at his position early in his career. The seventh overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, the Missouri product had 14 sacks as a rookie despite not starting any of his 16 games. He become a full-time starter in 2012, his second season, making 19.5 sacks to earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. It wasn’t long after that breakout season that legal trouble became an issue with Smith, however.

In 2013, Smith crashed his truck into a tree in San Jose, Calif., and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. He was suspended nine games in 2014 by the NFL for a violation of the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies. In 2015 he was arrested on hit-and-run, DUI and vandalism charges and subsequently released by the 49ers.

Smith joined the Oakland Raiders for the 2015 season but played just nine games before being suspended again by the NFL for another substance abuse policy violation.

Though Smith signed a two-year contract with the Raiders in 2016, he never played another snap for the Raiders, eventually receiving his release in 2018 following charges including domestic violence, assault and false imprisonment. In November 2018, he pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanor charges to settle the domestic violence case.

Smith was suspended indefinitely by the NFL in February 2019 but reinstated by the league prior to last season following his signing with the Cowboys.

His best game last season came against the Seahawks, making three of his five sacks in Week 3.

The Seahawks’ interest in Smith apparently goes back to prior to last season. ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson said Wednesday on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy that the Seahawks were among the finalists to sign Smith before he joined Dallas the previous offseason, and ESPN’s Todd Archer, who covers the Cowboys, also reported that the Seahawks tried to trade for Smith during the 2020 season.

In Seattle, Smith will join Carlos Dunlap, Benson Mayowa and Kerry Hyder Jr. as players the Seahawks have either signed or re-signed to their pass rush this offseason.

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