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Aldon Smith says he’s not worried about rust in his NFL comeback — telling TMZ Sports he feels young, healthy and “blessed by God.”
The 30-year-old pass-rusher was reinstated by the NFL after 5 years out of pro football due to several off-the-field issues including arrests stemming from substance abuse.
But, Smith — a former 1st All-Pro — says he’s now clean and sober and focused on football. In fact, he’s been busting his ass in L.A. with Jay Glazer and recently signed a 1-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
Some people would be concerned about readjusting to the speed of the NFL after 5 years off … but Aldon says he’s not sweating it at all.
“God has blessed me with talent,” Smith tells us … ” And, one of the talents is my natural gift to play ball, to be an athlete.”
“So, I still feel young. I don’t have the mileage on my body. I still feel great when I go to the gym. I still feel young and fresh. So, if anything, I’m looking forward to what I’m going to be able to do out there.”
When asked if he thinks he has another 19.5 sack season in him — the same numbers he posted back in 2012 — Smith was confident about that, too!
“I’m an overall better person [than I was back then],” Smith says.
“I got 20 sacks … 19.5 … I say 20 because it was 20. But, I was able to play at a high level with a lot of other things going on in my life. With how life is for me now, I’m just looking forward to seeing what I can do.”
“My goal is to pick up where I left off. That just means I always work hard. I always play hard. I want the same thing out of my teammates and I’m sure those guys in the locker room feel the same way, and with that mentality, the sky is the limit. I think as long as we do what we need to do and everybody plays to their potential anything’s possible.”