The Seattle Seahawks are releasing defensive end Aldon Smith, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Smith was arrested in April for an alleged second-degree battery, two days after after he signed with the Seahawks, after he was accused of choking a man unconscious during an altercation that began inside a coffee shop. According to the police report obtained by WWL-TV, Smith had confronted the man about marital issues the man was having with one of Smith’s relatives.
Smith, who had signed a one-year deal worth $1.127 million with the Seahawks, with $137,500 guaranteed, said he couldn’t comment on the case when he met with the media earlier this month.
The Louisiana incident was the latest of Smith’s several brushes with the law, which have included multiple DUI arrests and a domestic-violence charge. Those incidents and others led the NFL to suspend Smith for parts of the 2014 and ’15 seasons and from 2016 to 2019 for violations of its policies on personal conduct and substances of abuse.
The 31-year-old Smith returned to the NFL last season with the Dallas Cowboys and had five sacks in 16 games, with three coming in one game against Seattle and all of them coming in the first half of the season.
Smith set an NFL record with 33.5 sacks over his first two seasons and has 52.5 sacks in five seasons.
The Seahawks are deep with edge rushers, including veterans Carlos Dunlap, Benson Mayowa and Kerry Hyder as well as promising young players such as Darrell Taylor, Alton Robinson and L.J. Collier.
The news of Smith being released was first reported by NFL Network.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Brady Henderson contributed to this report.