Aldon Smith, a former San Francisco 49ers star whose NFL career evaporated amid a bevy of off-field issues, died Saturday, the Niners announced. He was 36 years old.
The team’s statement:
“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith. Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organization, having recorded one of the best rookie seasons the National Football League has seen. Beyond his excellence as a player, Aldon will be remembered for his infectious smile that lit up every room he walked into. Our entire organization sends its deepest condolences to the Smith family and all who knew and loved Aldon.”
No cause of death was provided.
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Smith displayed seemingly unlimited potential in his first two seasons with the Niners. The seventh overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft was immediately one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, posting 14 sacks in his rookie season to earn Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
His sophomore season was even better, with a 19.5-sack performance that remains San Francisco’s franchise record. He was perhaps the scariest part of a Niners defense that featured six Pro Bowlers, including Hall of Famer Patrick Willis.
That group ranked second in the NFL in points allowed and powered San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII, where it lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
Those were the good days of Smith’s career, though even 2012 saw him eventually charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon over an incident in which he was stabbed at a party at his home. The bad truly began in 2013, when a September DUI arrest led to him entering rehab midseason. He was later suspended nine games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policy, which he served in 2014. That year also saw him arrested after an incident with the TSA at Los Angeles International Airport.
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The Niners cut ties with him after a third DUI arrest, this time an alleged hit-and-run, before the 2015 season. He moved across the Bay to the Oakland Raiders, where he played a full season before the bottom fully dropped out of his career. Smith didn’t play for the next four seasons, as the NFL turned a one-year suspension for the hit-and-run into an indefinite one as his off-field incidents continued, including domestic violence charges for which he would later plead guilty.
Despite all of that — a span of time in which Smith said he slept in his car some nights — he got one more season when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took a chance on him. He posted a solid season as a starter in 2020 and was going to continue his career with the Seattle Seahawks, but was released in August 2021 following a battery arrest.
Smith confirmed his retirement from the NFL in 2023.
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