When former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Aldon Smith joined the league, he looked to have the makings of the next great NFL linebacker. However, off-field issues ultimately ended his playing career. Legal issues have once again come to bite Smith, this time with serious consequences.

Smith has been sentenced to a year in jail after pleading no contest to a felony DUI charge, via TMZ. Smith was reprimanded immediately after the verdict and began servicing his sentence right away. Alongside jail time, Smith was served with five years of supervised probation.

Smith's jail sentence stemmed from an incident in 2021. Smith rear-ended a truck that was stopped at a stop sign on a freeway off-ramp. The person Smith hit suffered numerous injuries. When police arrived, Smith appeared intoxicated and had alcohol bottles around his vehicle.

By pleading guilty, the former linebacker was facing up to 16 months in jail. He'll now serve a year behind bars for his drunk driving incident.

Aldon Smith entered the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. After earning an All-Pro nod in 2021, he was in rehab by 2013. Smith then served a nine-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy in 2014. His third DUI in 2015 led to him being cut by the 49ers.

Smith received a one-year suspension for a hit and run in 2016 and was released by the Raiders in 2018 due to domestic violence.

He eventually ended up with the Cowboys, where he played in 2020. Smith joined the Seahawks' practice squad in 2021 but never played another NFL down after he left Dallas.

His latest arrest caps off what has been a whirlwind career for Carter. He'll have a chance to think about his actions over the next year.