Defensive end Aldon Smith met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and is waiting for a decision about his indefinite suspension, according to the Dallas Cowboys’ Stephen Jones.
Out of the league since 2015 due to a series of arrests and off-field issues, Smith signed a one-year deal with Dallas last month worth up to a reported $4 million.
Jones, the Cowboys’ executive vice president and director of player personnel, told the Pro Football Talk PM podcast Friday that Smith has met with Goodell and is “waiting to hear back.”
The Cowboys are also waiting to hear about a possible reinstatement for defensive end Randy Gregory, who was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and hasn’t played since 2018.
“We’re not sure when we’ll hear something,” Jones said. “Obviously, the league is looking out for their best interest. As men off the field and certainly that’s what’s first and foremost and the priority is how they’re coming off the field.
“If ultimately they get to a point which we think they can that Roger (Goodell) feels like they can come back to work and play football and that’s in their best interest in addition to what they need off the field, then certainly we’ll welcome them back and go to work.”
Smith, 30, was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Smith had 14 sacks as a rookie, then added 19.5 in 2012 and was selected first-team All-Pro.
However, Smith was arrested on suspicion of DUI in January 2012 and again in September 2013, and he sat out five games in 2013 while going through rehab.
He was suspended by the NFL for the first nine games of the 2014 season for violations of the substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies.
After Smith was arrested a third time on suspicion of DUI (along with hit-and-run and vandalism) in August 2015, the 49ers released him the following day. He signed with the then-Oakland Raiders a month later, and he had 3.5 sacks in nine games for Oakland before he was suspended for a year by the NFL for a violation of the substance-abuse policy.
Smith signed a two-year deal with the Raiders in April 2016 but never was reinstated by the league. Oakland eventually cut him in March 2018 after two alleged domestic violence incidents.
In 59 career NFL games (37 starts), Smith has 47.5 sacks, 180 tackles, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
Gregory, 27, was suspended indefinitely on Feb. 26 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy and the terms of his conditional reinstatement. This was his fourth suspension since coming into the league. He has been suspended for more games (30) than he has played (28).
In his last NFL action in the 2018 season, Gregory recorded 25 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles in 14 games for Dallas.
Gregory has played in parts of three seasons (2015-16, 2018), recording 45 tackles, seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 28 career games (one start).
–Field Level Media
