Jason Burgos
San Francisco 49ers nation received some sad news on Saturday night with the stunning news that former first-round pick and All-Pro Aldon Smith had passed away at only 36 years old.
“I’m being told that former 49ers defensive end Aldon Smith has passed away at 36 years old. A source tells me he arrived DOA at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California,” 49ers reporter and podcaster Chase Senior revealed in a post on X.
Following Senior’s report, the NFL and 49ers confirmed the news of Smith’s untimely passing.
Smith was the 7th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Missouri. From the start, the Tigers alum made an immediate impact at the next level. Despite not starting in his rookie season, he posted 14 sacks and was a runner-up for defensive rookie of the year. He followed that up in his second season with a Pro Bowl campaign after tallying 19.5 sacks.
However, he missed large swaths of the next few seasons dealing with a variety of issues off the field, including struggles with mental health and multiple run-ins with the law. He ended up being slapped with a season-long suspension in 2015 when he was with the then-Oakland Raiders due to a hit-and-run incident while driving under the influence.
Smith remained out of the league for the next four seasons before attempting a one-year comeback with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020. The one-time All-Pro ended his career with 52.5 sacks and 228 tackles in just 75 games in the NFL. Smith will go down as one of the great what-if stories in the league’s history because of the linebacker’s amazing talent when his mind was right.
