Seahawks officially cut ties with veteran defensive end Aldon Smith

The Seahawks made a rather notable roster move on Wednesday as Seattle has parted ways with defensive end Aldon Smith, who signed with the team earlier this offseason. The move was first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and the team made the release official a few hours later.

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Smith, 31, signed with the Seahawks on a one-year deal worth just over $1 million with a little over $100,000 of it guaranteed. He played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, compiling five sacks, three of which came against the Seahawks in Week 3.

That was Smith’s first taste of NFL action since 2015 as the pass rusher has had numerous off-field issues resulting in suspensions, which derailed what was a brilliant start to his NFL career. Smith tallied 33.5 sacks in his first two seasons after the San Francisco 49ers drafted him in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. After 2013, Smith appeared in just 27 of a possible 48 regular season games before being suspended until the 2020 season.

Smith has battled substance abuse, was charged with illegally possessing an assault weapon, was arrested for an incident at an airport with a TSA agent, and had multiple DUIs and a hit and run.

Shortly after signing with the Seahawks, a warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest in Louisiana for an alleged second-degree battery. His arraignment is reportedly scheduled for later this month. Smith told reporters at training camp that he couldn’t comment on the pending legal case.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network had this to say on Wednesday: “He tried. The Seahawks tried. It was just too much. I think at some point there was just not a way forward for both sides. Kind of came to a head early this morning. Smith was not going to be at practice and (he’s) now officially going to be a free agent rather than play for Seattle this year.”

Signing Smith was one of many moves the Seahawks made to create a deep pass rush rotation this offseason, and he reportedly was a training camp standout and had showed up to the team’s facility in great shape.

Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters last week that Smith was making a good first impression and praised the edge rusher’s athleticism and talent along with his ability to pick things up on defense.

With Smith out of the picture, the Seahawks still have Carlos Dunlap, Kerry Hyder Jr., Benson Mayowa, L.J. Collier, Alton Robinson, Rasheem Green and Darrell Taylor as defensive ends on the current roster.

Smith’s release comes just a few days before the Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.

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