Sources: Cowboys Moving On From Aldon Smith Due To 'Issues'

Cowboys free agent Aldon Smith had said he has now found his way ... but an NFL free agent again, he has not found his team.

Mike Fisher | Mar 24, 2021

FRISCO - "I lost my way along the way,'' said Aldon Smith almost a year ago, in his first full media session since joining the Dallas Cowboys and being reinstated by the NFL. "I wasn't sure what my purpose was. I know football is one of my many purposes that God has put me here for.''

Aldon Smith has found his way through the 2020 season in Dallas. But his way is presently not so clear, and as first reported by CowboysSI.com on Monday, he's no longer in the team's plans.

NFL sources tell CowboysSI.com that Smith is involved with "issues'' that are at least temporarily sidetracking the continuation of his comeback, which started with Dallas a year ago after spending almost a half-decade out of football due to a series of behavior-related NFL suspensions.

We are also told that Smith wishes to continue his football career.

Early on, starting in San Francisco, he recorded 33.5 sacks during his first two seasons before a host of off-the-field issues derailed his career.

Smith, 31, earned reinstatement last offseason and signed on a one-year deal to play for Dallas in 2020, where he participated in all 16 games and totaled five sacks.

At season's end, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “It’s inspirational to see a man like Aldon Smith have the comeback here that he had. ... and we want him to build on it to the benefit of the Cowboys.”

That comment has caused some media outlets to report that Dallas is still trying to bring back Smith, and it's caused other outlets to suggest that the recent signing of edge-rusher Tarell Basham is the reason Smith isn't a Cowboy. Those reports are wrong; people who know Smith are concerned about his "issues,'' not about him re-upping in Dallas (which the Cowboys will not be doing) ... or, for the moment anywhere else.

Published Mar 24, 2021

MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.