Raiders LB Aldon Smith suspended 1 year by NFL
— -- The NFL is suspending Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith one year for his role in an Aug. 6 incident, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Smith pleaded not guilty in September to hit and run, drunken driving and vandalism. Smith, 25, was arrested in August in Santa Clara on drunken driving charges.
The Raiders signed Smith on Sept. 11 to a one-year deal. He was released by the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 7.
A source told ESPN's Field Yates that Smith's one-year deal contained a $1.25 million base salary though Smith could have earned up to $8 million; the contract also included a $250,000 per-game roster bonus and $2.75 million if he had at least 10 sacks.
The pass-rush-needy Raiders signed Smith on the same day he was charged with three misdemeanors in the wake of his fifth arrest since 2012..
In a separate incident, Smith was arrested on April 13, 2014, at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.
During the 2014 season, he received a nine-game suspension for what the league called violations of its policies on substance abuse and personal conduct. Smith spent a month in treatment during the 2013 season.
There were plenty of football-related reasons for Oakland to sign Smith.
Smith was second on the team with 3.5 sacks this season, and tied with Khalil Mack for most QB hits with eight. He had played 78 percent of the Raiders snaps, which ranked fifth among their defenders.
The Raiders had just 22 sacks last season, tied for the second fewest in the NFL.
Smith has 47.5 sacks in 59 regular-season NFL games.
Information from ESPN's Bill Williamson and Adam Caplan, ESPN's Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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