Former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders star pass rusher Aldon Smith saw his NFL career derailed by substance abuse.
The pass rusher put up a league record 33.5 sacks over the course of his first two seasons. Unfortunately, Smith has been out of the league since 2015 due to demons off the field.
That has apparently continued with another DUI arrest in Kansas on Monday evening.
“Police initially stopped Smith on a traffic violation. He was arrested around midnight on suspicion of DUI,” The Kansas City Star noted. “He was taken to the Mission police station, where he was issued citations and released to a friend, said Capt. Kevin Self, a spokesman for the Mission Police Department.”
Smith spent parts of four seasons with the 49ers after they made him a top-seven pick back in 2011.
A plethora of off-field issues ended his time with the team. That included a 2012 arrest in Florida for driving under the influence.
Later that year, Smith was charged with three counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon stemming from a fight that broke out in Northern California in which multiple people were shot. The next year saw Smith arrested in San Jose for driving under the influence and possession of marijuana.
After a few more incidents in San Francisco, the 49ers released Smith ahead of the 2015 season. He ultimately latched on with the cross-bay rival Raiders in 2015. Having played just nine games with the Raiders due to a suspension, Smith was released by Oakland following domestic violence allegations in 2018.
The list goes on and on.
It’s safe to say one of the NFL’s best pass rushers during his time in the league will never set foot on the gridiron again. That’s the sad reality of Smith’s substance abuse issues.