Aldon Smith is currently facing three charges from Santa Clara County relating to a DUI arrest last month. Despite the problems, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders last week and is eligible to play in NFL games.
But the question is: for how long?
Pro Football Talk reports that Smith could be suspended by the league based on a violation of the substance-abuse policy. From PFT:
A separate question for Smith arises from the possibility that he was consuming alcohol in violation of his treatment plan under the substance-abuse program. If Smith is in Stage 3 of the program, any deviation from his treatment plan could subject him to a one-year suspension, even without a failed alcohol test.
You may recall that Smith, who has had multiple run-ins with the law over the past few years, also was arrested for DUI in 2013. He had marijuana and pills in his car at the time, too. This probably explains why Smith was adamant last month that there was no alcohol involved in his latest incident.
The hit and run and vandalism charges he is facing for the latest incident would not constitute a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, but the alcohol element could lead to a suspension as PFT says. But Smith could play for the Raiders until the NFL does suspend him.
As another interesting note, PFT reports that Smith also received contract offers from the Bucs and Jags for more money but still elected to sign with the Raiders.
