The San Francisco 49ers have had a very busy offseason and the team now may not pick up the option on Aldon Smith's deal for 2015 after his latest incident and as that goes on, the team is also looking to trade former draft pick LaMichael James and teams like the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and NY Giants could be potential landing spots for the speedy back.
Smith has been one of the most productive defensive players for the Niners over the past couple years, but his off the field issues have taken over his narrative and that is why the team may not pick up his option. According to ESPN.com, the 49ers have until May 3 to pick up the fifth year option on Smith, who is 24 years old and has been one of the best young defensive players in the league. That rise has also brought trouble, as Smith was in treatment during the season for alcohol issues and missed five games and more recently he was detained at LAX after getting into it with TSA agents and making comments about having a bomb.
Smith was arrested after that incident and that only shed more light on his past behavior, which also included a problem at a party after which he was hit with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon. Smith's issues have taken over any talk about his career and while he is wildly talented, the 49ers may be ready to get rid of him once his contract is up and that could potentially lead to a trade next season, but there is no indication that will happen yet. Smith was still very productive last season despite missing five games after dealing with treatment, ending up with 12 sacks and 34 tackles and he continued to be a strong part of the defense along with Patrick Willis.
Smith has been very durable in his career and he has not missed any games for injuries and over his first two seasons he played in all 16 games, putting up 14 sacks and 19.5 sacks and now he has 42 in his career along with 137 tackles. Smith helped the team rank fourth in the league in rushing yards allowed and while he has been a very good player, the Niners went 5-0 without in him in the lineup this season and that could lead to his option not getting picked up. The team still could retain him with the franchise tag, but that would cost more than his option would have been. The injury to NaVorro Bowman also could come into play with what the Niners do with Smith.
LaMichael James is being shopped and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders could be potential landing spots. James is a very fast back, but he never was able to crack the Niners rotation and with Kendall Hunter the solid backup, James now could be on his way out and one team in the Eagles could have been perfect since he used to play for Chip Kelly, but they already made a deal for Darren Sproles. James has barely played over the past two seasons, but he has breakaway speed and can also return kicks.
