Aldon Smith: Let’s Not Cut Off Our Noses To Spite Our Faces
By Kevin Saito
Aldon Smith, the Oakland Raiders still-banished linebacker, is set to be reinstated according to multiple reports – so why is there a call to cut him now?
It’s been more than a year since we last saw Aldon Smith – the incredibly talented but incredibly troubled linebacker – on the field for the Oakland Raiders. Eyebrows were most definitely raised when GM Reggie McKenzie signed Smith in the first place. McKenzie has made it a habit to avoid players with character issues. But, he gave Smith a chance and the former 49ers star did the best that he could with it.
But Smith couldn’t outrun his past and finally had to pay the piper for his previous missteps. Smith was suspended by Roger Goodell following Oakland’s week nine game against Minnesota – which was back in November, 2015. And he’s been on Goodell’s banished list ever since.
McKenzie raised more eyebrows last offseason when he signed Smith to a two-year deal. This, despite knowing there was a chance Smith would never see the field in 2016. A chance that turned out to be a reality. Although there was some optimism that Smith would make a late season return, Goodell punted, putting off the decision until this March.
But all indications are pointing toward Smith being reinstated in March – provided he stays on the straight and narrow until then.
You might think that Smith’s perhaps imminent return would be treated as good, welcome news. After all, a pass rushing specialist sounds like something the Raiders could use right about now, doesn’t it?
Apparently though, not everybody is on board with the idea of Smith returning. In a recent article, one writer calls for McKenzie and the Raiders to “Pull the Plug on the Aldon Smith Experiment.”
Wait… huh?
Yeah, apparently there are some out there who believe the Raiders would be better off parting ways with Smith. Now, granted, the offseason is the time of year when wild, wacky ideas and thoughts seem to be the norm. But out of all of the offseason musings, there is usually an assortment of good – or at least, thought-provoking – ideas, and some really terrible, where did that thought even come from ones.
Clearly, this piece falls into that latter category.
The writer’s main bone of contention with Smith seems to be that – he could get into more trouble somewhere down the line.
"“Even if Smith could make an impact, there is no telling whether he could get into trouble again, and cost the Raiders more of a heartache down the road.”"
By that logic though, Reggie should just cut everybody because anybody can get themselves into trouble at any point in time. Now granted, not everybody is as big of a knucklehead as Smith has been to this point in his career – to wit, it’s hard to see Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, or Amari Cooper getting into some of the situations Smith has. But the potential is there for anybody and everybody to do something really stupid and make a terrible mistake.
It’s called being human, learning to mature, and growing up. And for some – like Smith apparently – the learning curve is apparently, a bit steeper.
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Further, the writer of that piece claims that Smith has been a distraction for this team. A charge not supported by the facts. This was a 12-4 team. This was a team that made the playoffs — and if not for a season-ending injury to Carr, a team that could have made some noise in the postseason.
This wasn’t a team distracted by Smith’s presence — or lack thereof — around the locker room.
Since coming over to Oakland, Smith has kept a pretty low profile, has been a good citizen, and a solid teammate. He’s been working very hard to get – and stay – on the right path. Yes, there was the stupid Periscope controversy, but that is an issue that seems to have no legs and has disappeared into the ether.
And don’t think for a minute that if there was anything truly substantive to it, that Goodell wouldn’t have brought the hammer down on Smith.
From a practical, football standpoint, the Raiders really don’t have a whole lot to lose – and everything to gain – by keeping Smith on the roster. With a contract that has a low base salary ($1.25M), no guaranteed money, a $2.75M cap hit, and no dead money, there isn’t a whole lot of risk involved in keeping Smith in Silver and Black – they can always jettison him without any undue burden if he fails to produce or runs afoul of the law again.
But the potential upside he brings to this defense – it has to make you salivate.
With Mack, Irvin, and Smith on the field at the same time – provided the brain trust of HC Jack Del Rio, DC Ken Norton Jr. and whatever-his-title-is John Pagano can maximize the talent – Oakland’s defense will start becoming a nightmare for opposing offenses.
A triple threat of pass rushers the caliber of those three guys will give offensive coordinators fits. And if the Raiders can get better up the middle, this defense can really start becoming something special.
The Raiders ranked last in the NFL in sacks last season with a paltry 25. Of those 25, Mack (11) and Irvin (7) accounted for 18 of those. The presence of Smith practically guarantees an increase in that sack total – and if the Raiders can get better up the middle, they could potentially be one of the league’s top teams in that category.
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With so little at stake financially, it makes absolutely zero sense to “pull the plug” on Smith at this point. Especially when there is so much incredible potential and upside to having Mack, Irvin, and Smith on the field at the same time.
So how about, instead of “pulling the plug” on this experiment, we actually allow the experiment to run its course and see what we get out of it? And maybe, just maybe, it will yield some incredible results – possibly even, championship-level results.