San Francisco 49ers Cut LB Aldon Smith after DUI, Hit-and-Run, and Vandalism Charges

Thursday night Santa Clara Police arrested San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith for hit-and-run, DUI, and vandalism. Friday night, the team that plays in Santa Clara cut the troubled but talented player.

Booked into Santa Clara County Jail, Smith suffered his third DUI arrest. After his last arrest in September 2013 he missed five games while rehabbing. Additionally, the number seven overall 2011 NFL draft pick missed nine more games while serving a suspension for those arrests and other off-field problems last season, reported NBC Sports.

Smith argued that his fans and friends will remain faithful to him. “Simple as this: Justice will be served, the truth will come out, there’s no DUI,” he told KGO in San Francisco. “I’m sorry for anybody I let down, I’m sorry for the way this whole thing . . . I need to speak and I want everybody to understand, this wasn’t a DUI, the situation I had could have been handled differently and I apologize for everybody I did let down and I apologize for how it all played out. But as far as everything is concerned, it will work out the way it’s supposed to work out. That’s all.”

The incident comes at an inopportune time for Smith. Recently, the 25-year-old chose a smaller salary for his 2015-16 option year and converted to non-guaranteed roster bonuses and incentives. Certainly it will be difficult to exploit those performance incentives when he’s watching the games from his living room couch—hopefully not the local tavern.

The NFL Network’s Michael Silver asked 49ers owner Jed York if he made any decisions regarding the beleaguered linebacker and he replied: “Not yet.” By Friday afternoon, the 49ers made their decision.