Former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith will be released early from prison on September 5 after serving time for a felony assault charge.
Sean Smith received some good news on Monday with the word that he would be released earlier than expected from prison after serving half of his sentence.
The former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback has been in prison serving a full year sentence initially handed down after he pleaded guilty for felony assault for a midsummer incident from a year ago involving his sister’s boyfriend. At that point, Smith’s disappointing tenure with the Oakland Raiders came to an end—and likely his NFL career as well.
It’s interesting to note that Smith will be getting out of prison just as the regular season begins, but anyone who believes Smith will be suiting for any team any time soon (including the Chiefs) is completely mistaken. The NFL will undoubtedly take matters into their own hands if Smith ever shows interest in being gainfully employed again with a suspension of some length.
Working further against Smith’s hopes for return (we’re assuming here that he would even want to come back) is the fact that he’s now 31-years-old coming off of considerable prison time. To say that he would need to work himself into game shape is a likely understatement and it’s not as if he finished his stint in Oakland with a Pro Bowl season. Pro Football Focus rated him as “below average” for his 14-game performance in 2017.
Smith served as the Chiefs top cornerback for Andy Reid’s first two seasons in Kansas City and combined with Marcus Peters as one of the NFL’s best cornerback tandems in 2015. Smith then hit free agency and signed a 4-year contract worth up to $38 million. Smith has earned an estimated $39 million in his NFL career.