SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers have been preparing for months to play on without Aldon Smith over an extended period.
Now they know the exact timeframe: He is suspended for more than half the season.
The star linebacker received his nine-game penalty from the league Friday stemming from a series of off-field legal issues.
A statement from the NFL said Smith had violated the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies.
Smith won’t be eligible to return until Nov. 10, the day after the 49ers’ game against the New Orleans Saints.
“Our organization has known this decision would come and we have prepared for it as a team,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. “Aldon has taken responsibility for his actions and has continued to show growth personally and professionally. We will continue to support him, but it is time to put this matter behind us and focus on the season ahead.”
The 24-year-old Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an in-patient facility following his DUI arrest Sept. 20.
It was unclear whether Commissioner Roger Goodell would consider that absence toward time served. Smith was suspended two days after Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon’s indefinite suspension by the NFL was upheld and he will miss at least 16 games for another violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Just before training camp began last month, Smith was sentenced to serve three years of probation and to spend 11 days with a work crew after he pleaded no contest to drunken driving and weapons charges.
He has repeatedly said he has been sober since his DUI arrest last September. Smith played in a 27-7 home loss to the Colts on Sept. 22, two days after he was arrested and jailed on suspicion of DUI and marijuana possession. After the game, he publicly apologized for his behavior and later announced he would leave for treatment.
While the Niners went on a five-game winning streak without him, Smith’s menacing presence was sorely missed. The team still picked up his 2015 contract option this spring.
The 49ers, who went 14-5 last year and lost to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game, also are without injured All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman for at least half the season as he recovers from a left knee injury that required surgery after the NFC title game.
Vikings WR Simpson suspended 3 games
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson has been suspended for three games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, his second such punishment in three seasons.
The league announced the punishment Friday, putting Simpson on the sideline until Sept. 22 when the Vikings begin practice for Week 4. Simpson will sit out games against St. Louis, New England and New Orleans.
Simpson traveled to NFL headquarters last week for an appeal hearing, but his effort ultimately had no effect on the ban. Simpson was arrested last November on suspicion of drunken driving, and in January he pleaded guilty to careless driving and refusing to submit to a chemical test.
Simpson missed the first three games in 2012 following a felony drug conviction.
By wire sources