49ers release Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith received second chance after second chance with the San Francisco 49ers, who parted ways with their troubled linebacker Friday following his fifth run-in with the law.
Only a few days earlier, general manager Trent Baalke expressed his desire to keep Smith beyond this season, which would have been a contract year. Instead Friday, Baalke and coach Jim Tomsula met with Smith at team headquarters after he left jail to inform him he was no longer part of the team.
“It’s a sad day,” Tomsula said during an emotional news conference. “This is a day that doesn’t have anything to do about football.”
Smith was arrested Thursday night – on a day off from training camp for players – the fifth legal run-in since the team drafted him in 2011.
Santa Clara police arrested Smith, and accused him of drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism.
Police said Friday that at 8:46 p.m., Smith collided with a parked vehicle while parking his car, then caused further damage to the parked vehicle with his car door.
Authorities said Smith then left the scene without reporting the collision or leaving any identifying information. He later returned to the parking area where he was contacted by officers. Smith displayed “objective symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. Officers administered a field sobriety test to Smith” and he was arrested.
Smith denied he was driving under the influence during a brief interview with a local television station.
“Justice will be served, the truth will come out,” Smith told KTVU Fox 2 as he walked out of jail. “There’s no DUI. I’m sorry for the way this whole thing – I want everybody to understand the situation that happened could have been handled differently.”
Tomsula declined to speak about specifics of Smith’s arrest, but offered, “We’re dealing with human beings, living breathing human beings.”
“There are things that need to be addressed with 100 percent of what he has,” Tomsula said.
San Francisco has had 12 arrests or charges filed involving seven players since January 2012, prompting owner Jed York to promise the team would “win with class.” The Niners released defensive tackle Ray McDonald late last season for his off-field problems.
Around the league
New York Jets safety Antonio Allen is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, and cornerback Dee Milliner will be sidelined up to two months with a wrist injury that requires surgery. The team announced the injuries Friday morning after both players were hurt during Thursday’s training camp practice. … Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson could miss two weeks after suffering a hamstring injury at practice on Friday.