At one point in his career, 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was averaging nearly one sack per game. That talent and production made it easier for the 49ers to stand behind him through multiple arrests and a nine-game suspension in 2015.
But patience had its limits. Even before Friday’s latest incident, the 49ers had squeezed Smith with the implied threat of cutting him before his fifth-year option salary of $9.754 million became fully guaranteed, getting him to convert much of the money to non-guaranteed payments. (He eventually made $1.1 million for being on the roster from April 1 through August 1, and presumably another $500,000 workout bonus.