Justin Smith left the San Francisco 49ers last year when he retired from the NFL after 14 seasons. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is now reporting the grizzly defensive end is contemplating a return to the league, but he does not want to return to the 49ers.
There is a problem with Smith’s reported desire, however. Smith finds himself in the exact situation as offensive tackle Anthony Davis, who recently applied for reinstatement, as detailed by Florio:
“The problem for Smith is that the 49ers continue to control his rights. If he returns, they’d be entitled to his services for the balance of a contract that was tolled when he walked away.”
Unlike Smith, Davis has been outspoken on his Twitter account about being excited to return to the 49ers after a year off to get healthy.
If “Cowboy” really does want to play in the NFL again, then he’d need to either play with the 49ers or hope the franchise would be willing to trade him. And, as Florio pointed out, Smith’s age (37) and the fact he took a year off could be a factor that goes against him in such an endeavor.
In his 14 seasons, Smith racked up 613 tackles and 87 sacks, he was voted to five Pro Bowls and one First-Team All-Pro squad. He was a relentless pass-rusher who relied more on raw power and determination than raw skill and talent. He was also one of the most feared defenders in the NFL.
It seems unlikely that we’ll actually see Smith strap on the pads and a helmet in 2016. More than likely, he’ll realize that getting his body and mind ready for another brutal campaign of abuse just isn’t worth the effort.