FRISCO, TEXAS — “ I am a much better version of who I was, “ newly reinstated defensive end Aldon Smith remarked to local Dallas media.
After a long journey of self-reflection on the road to recovery from addiction and an indefinite suspension from the NFL, Smith has become the person he is proud of and one the Cowboys decided to take a chance on.
He described the inward battle he faced and the change he underwent.
“ The way I look at where I am now to who I was, in the past I was a young 12-year-old or you know, young teenage boy in a man’s body so I was a man on the outside but a boy inside. So, the way that I handled issues, life, and everything was in that immature manner. That was fear based and just not handling things the way that I should have and with the time that I have had to work on myself, it has allowed me and given me the chance to grow into the man that I am now. So, the man on the inside fits how the man on the outside looks and it’s just given me a new perspective/outlook on life…”
Smith was done dealing with an inward dichotomy between the person he wanted/knew he could be and the person he saw in the mirror- the addict. He had come to the end of his rope and hit rock bottom. His grandmother, Julia Edwards, helped him get his life back on track and sparked the change.
“ My grandma passed last year and she was somebody I was very close to and around the time she passed, my life was not where I wanted it to be and she was somebody who meant a lot to me. I remember the last time we spoke, she had ALS, and so she passed at an earlier age than what she should have. ALS takes away a lot of your body’s functions and so she couldn’t speak, but before the last time I saw her she was able to get some words and a message to me and that was just ‘do better’ and basically ‘go out here and get what you deserve.’ That stuck with me. “
The message she was able to get across resonated with Smith and helped him fully surrender. As profound as her words were, the desire to straighten up and continue to pursue the passion he never had a chance to finish because of a self-inflicted struggle with alcohol abuse, had to be his. He was in charge of his own destiny and the tough road to sobriety. Smith had a great infrastructure and support group of people around him that helped him through the reinstatement process and getting his body right. He is now weighing in at 285 pounds, is sober, and cleared to be apart of the Cowboys’ virtual offseason program. His hard work to get himself back has paid off and Smith is ready to get back on the field and wreak havoc on quarterbacks.
He has not played since 2015 but feels great and knows what he is capable of with his competitive nature. In his first three seasons in the league (2011-2013), Smith accumulated an astounding 42 sacks and racked up 19.5 during the 2012 season, guiding the 49ers to the Super Bowl and earning him All-Pro designation. There is certainly no question mark to his talent but his reliability. It has been a long road for the embattled DE but he continues to work on himself each day.
“ I can just continue to keep being the person who I have become to be and that’s somebody who I’m proud of. Somebody that the Cowboys thought it was good taking a chance on and somebody that the NFL thought was good taking a chance on.”
The framework around him with the Cowboys and group of guys in the locker room will be a positive impact for the 30-year-old. The accountability from his new team will help keep him on the straight and narrow, especially having a familiar face in the building- Jim Tomsula.
Tomsula, the Cowboys’ defensive line coach, served the same role with the 49ers when Smith played for San Francisco (2011-2014). His presence on the coaching staff in Dallas factored heavily into Smith’s decision to play for America’s Team, along with his brief discussion with Mike McCarthy in L.A. where he noted the two of them “just clicked.”
On reuniting with his former coach, Smith told D210Sports, “ Getting back and being with Jimmy was definitely exciting. We had a great time together with the group of guys we had and the successes we had there and I just love how Jim allows us to go out and be free on the field and not feel like we’re in a box. So, joining him, I’m just looking forward to what we can do with this good group of guys we have here.”
Smith is excited to return to the gridiron in 2020 and play for all his supporters like Jim that never left his side during his journey back to the NFL.
