Getty Aldon Smith with 49ers
It’s official: Aldon Smith is a Cowboy.
Shortly after news broke Wednesday night of his one-year deal with Dallas, the technically-suspended pass-rusher took to Instagram to post a picture of pen meeting paper, his NFL comeback dreams now a reality, a blessing.
“Life is good. I’m thankful. I’m blessed. I’m a Cowboy,” he wrote.
Attached to Smith’s photo was a statement in which he intimates the “struggle” of his former self — multiple arrests and consequential league suspensions, crippling substance-abuse issues, and domestic violence allegations — and the “beauty” of his transformative efforts that returned him to the sport he once dominated.
“There is beauty in the struggle,” Smith wrote. “Life will always present us with tests. I’ve learned how to take a different perspective on the adversities of life. Instead of looking at life like a victim, I have embraced the journey as God has planned it, making exponential strides toward becoming a better man.”
Impacted like everyone else from the COVID-19 pandemic’s vice-grip on the globe, Smith tossed a message of positivity into an increasingly negative echo chamber.
“Take this time that we have away from our normal day-to-day activities and think about changing your perspectives,” he wrote. “Focus not on how bad this situation is but instead on how we can all come out of this better people. Let’s work on the things we have been putting off and grow towards our ultimate potential.”
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Contract Details and Role in Dallas
Smith inked a one-year, $4 million deal, which really is a one-year, $2 million deal. The other half is available via unlockable incentives.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Smith has a $910,000 base salary for 2020 and will earn $40,625 each time he’s on the active gameday roster — $650,000 in total. He has additional sack escalators built into his contract; $500,000 for eight, $1 million for 10, $1.5 million for 12, and $2 million for 14.
For his career, Smith’s totaled 47.5 sacks across 59 games, spread between the then-Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. His best year came in 2012 when the former first-round pick tallied 19.5 sacks, an exceptional encore after a 14-sack rookie debut.
Assuming he’s reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, of course, he’ll require an adjustment period entering his age-31 season, having been out of work for so long. Complicating matters, however, is the absence of offseason programs and open training facilities, thanks to the coronavirus.
Smith, like his new teammates, might not see The Star until July. But caught up to speed, he’ll juice a lacking Cowboys pass-rush. His acquisition helps offset the loss of the team’s 2019 sack leader, Robert Quinn, who bolted to the Bears in free agency.
Smith, when he has his hand in the dirt, will aid a stacked (if underachieving) defensive line that features DeMarcus Lawrence and free-agent prizes Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe. When he’s standing up, he supplements an uber-talented linebacker corps highlighted by Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and Sean Lee.
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Suspended DE Aldon Smith Pens Powerful Statement on Joining Cowboys [LOOK]