SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Aldon Smith received second chance after second chance with the San Francisco 49ers. They finally had enough following his fifth run-in with the law.
The Niners parted ways with the troubled linebacker Friday, only three days after general manager Trent Baalke expressed his desire to keep Smith beyond this season, which would have been a contract year. Instead, Baalke and coach Jim Tomsula met with Smith on Friday at team headquarters after he left jail to inform him he was no longer part of the team.
"It's a sad day," Tomsula said during an emotional news conference. "This is a day that doesn't have anything to do about football."
Smith was arrested Thursday night - on a day off from training camp for players - the fifth legal run-in since the team drafted him in 2011. Tomsula spoke to a couple of players but had a team meeting Friday afternoon.
"Guys care about him, we care about that guy, deeply," he said.
Smith had said when camp began he was healthy and in great shape, "ready to go." While he is now free to sign with any team, not needing to go through waivers, he likely would first face another lengthy NFL suspension.
Santa Clara police arrested Smith, and accused him of drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism.
Police said at 8:46 p.m., Smith collided with a parked vehicle while parking his car, then caused further damage to the parked vehicle with his car door. The incident happened only a couple of miles from team headquarters at or on the street of Smith's luxury apartment complex.
Authorities said Smith then left the scene without reporting the collision or leaving any identifying information. He later returned to the parking area where he was contacted by officers. Smith displayed "objective symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. Officers administered a field sobriety test to Smith" and was arrested.
"Although he won't be playing football for the San Francisco 49ers, he will be supported and helped, and he will not have to walk this path alone," Tomsula said. "That comes from our ownership down. He will not have to walk this path alone. We're not worried about football. It has nothing to do with football."
The former Missouri Tiger denied he was driving under the influence during a brief interview with a local television station before Tomsula's news conference.
"Justice will be served, the truth will come out," Smith told KTVU Fox 2 as he walked out of jail. "There's no DUI. I'm sorry for the way this whole thing - I want everybody to understand the situation that happened could have been handled differently."
Tomsula declined to speak about specifics of Smith's arrest, but offered, "We're dealing with human beings, living breathing human beings."
"There are things that need to be addressed with 100 percent of what he has," the coach added.
San Francisco has had 12 arrests or charges filed involving seven players since January 2012, prompting owner Jed York to promise the team would "win with class." The Niners released defensive tackle Ray McDonald late last season for his off-field problems.
"If one person out there reads this and you're struggling, get help," an emotional Tomsula said emphatically. "Go get it. You're worth it. There's value in every human being. Get the help. You don't have to walk alone. Find it, it's there."
Smith, who when at his best is one of the game's top pass-rushers, was entering a contract year after he missed the first nine games of 2014 serving an NFL suspension for violations of the league's substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies.
In spring 2014, the 49ers exercised their 2015 option for Smith. In March, Smith restructured his contract into a more incentive-laden, team-friendly deal that gave the 49ers room if he were to get in legal trouble again.
The 25-year-old Smith missed time during the 2013 season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest Sept. 20, 2013. That November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.
Smith was arrested April 13, 2014, at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent he had a bomb. No charges were filed.
Smith emerged as one of the NFL's top pass rushers in 2012. He had a franchise-record 191/2 sacks that year, but failed to record a sack in his final six games, including the team's postseason Super Bowl run.
Smith finished with 81/2 sacks and 34 tackles in 11 games in 2013, making eight starts. In his shortened 2014 season, he had two sacks.