Aldon Smith, who starred at Raytown, Mizzou and then in the NFL, has died at 36
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- Aldon Smith, a Raytown and Mizzou star, has died at 36.
- Smith recorded 14 sacks as a 2011 rookie and was named PFWA defensive rookie of the year.
- Smith faced multiple arrests, suspensions and an NFL suspension from 2016 to 2019.
Aldon Smith, who starred as a high school football player at Raytown, for Mizzou and then in the NFL, has died.
The San Francisco 49ers, for whom Smith had a terrific rookie season, issued a statement announcing his passing on Saturday afternoon. The statement did not include a cause of death.
He was 36.
Missouri won a recruiting battle for Smith’s services in college, beating out offers from Kansas State, Kansas, Nebraska and other marquee programs. And Smith delivered for the Tigers as soon as he got on the field.
After redshirting as a freshman, Smith started 11 games at defensive end for Mizzou in 2009 and was named Big 12 defensive freshman and newcomer of the year.
Smith set a Missouri record for sacks with 11 1/2 as a redshirt freshman, but perhaps the biggest play of his career was an interception and 58-yard return that set up a touchdown in an upset victory over third-ranked Oklahoma.
Smith recorded 5 1/2 sacks that season but missed three games because of a broken bone in his leg. His first game back was against the Sooners.
He then declared for the 2011 NFL Draft, and he was taken seventh overall by the 49ers — higher than projected.
“We’ve been celebrating, jumping up and down,” Thurston Smith, Aldon’s father, told The Star at the time. “We were totally surprised.”
Smith’s NFL career got off to a tremendous start. As a rookie in 2011, he recorded 14 sacks and was named the Pro Football Writers Association defensive rookie of the year.
He topped that the next season, with 19 1/2 sacks, and was named All-Pro.
Unfortunately, though, it never got better than that for Smith. In 2013 he was involved in a single-vehicle accident and subsequently was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana.
In 2014 he served a nine-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies, and before the 2015 season, after an arrest for his third DUI, Smith was released by the 49ers. He spent 2015 with the Oakland Raiders.
Smith was suspended by the NFL from 2016-19 for violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies. He was reinstated in 2020 and played one season with the Dallas Cowboys.
He attempted a final comeback with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021 but was arrested on a second-degree battery charge in Louisiana and subsequently released.
In 2023, he said he was done with football.