Former 49ers star DE Aldon Smith dies at age 36

Aldon Smith, the 49ers’ single-season leader in sacks and a talented but troubled star, has died at the age of 36, the team announced Saturday afternoon.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s office released a statement, confirming Smith was declared dead Saturday at San Jose’s Good Samaritan Hospital. The Medical Examiner’s office said a cause and manner of death are pending completion of its investigation.

“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith,” the 49ers said in a statement. “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.”

Smith attempted to make strides as a mentor to younger players in recent years, and he spoke to the 49ers rookies on Thursday, along with other team alumni.

Smith spent four seasons with the 49ers after being the No. 7 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft out of Missouri. He got off to a roaring start, producing the 49ers’ most sacks (14) by a rookie and doing so after consulting Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Haley during the offseason lockout. Smith was runner-up to Denver’s Von Miller for the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Smith set the 49ers’ single-season sack record with 19 1/2 en route to All-Pro honors his second year. But that accomplishment came after his first offseason arrest, for suspicion of driving under the influence in Miami Beach, Florida.

More off-field issues derailed his 49ers tenure and his short-lived career.

Smith, a native of Greenwood, Mississippi, was arrested three times for DUI between January 2012 and August 2015, resulting in his release by the 49ers.

He also faced weapons charges after breaking up a 2012 fight at his home, and was detained and arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2014 when a TSA agent alleged he said he was carrying a bomb.

Smith’s prodigious talent landed him a deal with the Raiders before the 2015 season despite his trouble. He played in nine games for Oakland that season, but that November he was suspended a year for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

He re-signed with the Raiders after the season but was denied reinstatement and missed all of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. A domestic violence arrest in March of 2018 resulted in his release from the team and an indefinite suspension.

“Aldon proudly wore the Silver and Black, was respected by his teammates and will be missed dearly,” the Raiders said in a statement.

After another DUI arrest in Kansas in 2019, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in the spring of 2020, earning a conditional reinstatement from the NFL. He started all 16 games for Dallas in 2020, registering five sacks while returning to the game at age 31.

Smith signed a free-agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks on April 15, 2021, but less than a week later, Louisiana officials issued an arrest warrant for him on battery charges and the team released him. That December, he was arrested again for DUI in San Mateo County after rear-ending a Recology truck. He was sentenced to a year in jail in April 2023. Smith was released just six months later, and said then that he was done with football.

Before the 2013 season, Smith returned to his Missouri roots and spoke at his alma mater, Raytown High, telling students to “Shoot for your dreams.” Six years earlier, Smith was playing there, four miles from Arrowhead Stadium. His senior portrait was displayed in the school’s trophy case, as was the basketball team’s photo with Smith’s 6-foot-4 frame centered in the back row.

“Our football team wasn’t that good, so football wasn’t my best way to get friends,” said Smith said in 2013. “Our basketball team was really good, so that helped out.”

Smith transferred to Raytown his junior year from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After his parents’ divorce, he chose to live with his father, Thurston, rather than move to Georgia with his mother, Kembrya. “It was definitely a decision that weighed a lot on my life and how it’s turned out,” Aldon Smith said in 2013.

Smith excelled in football both on defense (12 sacks, seven forced fumbles) and as a tight end before heading to Missouri, where he opted to commit to defense. He set Missouri’s single-season record for sacks (11 1/2) as a redshirt freshman, and the 49ers drafted him seventh overall in 2011 under then-general manager Trent Baalke, who remained Smith’s staunchest supporter through a troubling tenure.