Smith finished his second professional season with 19.5 sacks, 66 tackles, three forced fumbles, a pass deflection, an interception, and a pass deflection in 16 games and starts. He broke Cedrick Hardman's 49er's franchise record of 18 sacks in one season, which Hardman set in 1971, a 14-game NFL season. The 49ers went on to appear in Super Bowl XLVII. In the game, Smith had two combined tackles as the 49ers narrowly lost to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.
Aldon Jacarus Smith (born September 25, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Smith was a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection with the 49ers in 2012. He also played for the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.
Smith did not start but made his NFL debut in the season-opening 33–17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, recording a pass deflection. Three weeks later against the Philadelphia Eagles, Smith recorded five tackles and his first 1.5 sacks on Michael Vick in the narrow 24–23 victory. Over the next two weeks, Smith would win the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week in victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. After a strong October, Smith became the first 49ers player since linebacker Patrick Willis in 2007 to earn the NFL Rookie of the Month award; Smith recorded 13 tackles and 6.5 sacks, including one that forced a safety as he helped the 49ers to a 6–1 record.
Smith played for the Missouri Tigers football team under head coach Gary Pinkel while attending the University of Missouri from 2008 to 2010. After being redshirted as a freshman in 2008, Smith started 11 of 13 games at defensive end in 2009. He finished the season with 60 tackles and 11 sacks. Smith was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and a first-team freshman All-American. As a sophomore in 2010, he played in nine games, recording 48 tackles and six sacks.
After being used only as a situational pass rusher throughout his rookie year, Smith became a full-time starter in 2012.
On the NFL Network's NFL Top 100 Players of 2013 ranking, players voted Smith as the seventh-best player in the league entering the 2013 season, which made him the second-highest-ever debut and second-highest defensive player on the list, both behind J. J. Watt. Smith was voted the San Francisco 49ers MVP in 2012.
On January 28, 2012, Smith was arrested for driving under the influence in Miami Beach, Florida.
Smith got off to a fast start in 2013, recording 18 tackles and 4.5 sacks in the first three games. However, on September 20, he was involved in a single-vehicle accident in San Jose, California. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. After a Week 3 27–7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Smith voluntarily entered a rehabilitation facility, to be put onto the non-football injury list with an indefinite leave of absence.
On September 20, 2013, Smith was involved in a single-vehicle accident in San Jose, California. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. After a Week 3 27–7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Smith voluntarily entered a rehabilitation facility, to be put onto the non-football injury list with an indefinite leave of absence.
On June 30, Smith was believed to have suffered stab wounds when attempting to break up a fight at a party at his Santa Clara County residence. Two other people were shot in the incident. On October 9, 2013, Smith was charged with "three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon" relating to the stabbing incident. The charges were later reduced to misdemeanors.
On April 13, 2014, Smith was detained and arrested following an incident at the Los Angeles International Airport in which he became belligerent and uncooperative with a TSA agent, who alleged Smith claimed he was carrying a bomb. After interviews revealed that Smith did not clearly state he was carrying a bomb, the Los Angeles City Attorney decided to drop the charges. Smith was suspended for nine games in the 2014 season.
On August 6, 2015, Smith was arrested in Santa Clara, California, for an alleged hit and run after driving under the influence, and vandalism charges. He was released by the 49ers the next day as a result.
Smith made his Raiders debut in the season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and recorded two tackles. Two weeks later against the Cleveland Browns, Smith got his first start of the year and finished the 27–20 road victory with two solo tackles and two pass deflections. In the next game against the Chicago Bears, he recorded a season-high six tackles and his first sack of the year as the Raiders narrowly lost on the road by a score of 22–20. Smith played his last game of the season in Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings and finished the 30–14 loss with three tackles and a sack. Two days later, the NFL issued Smith a one-year suspension due to a hit-and-run incident that occurred on August 6, 2015.
On August 7, 2015, following an arrest for his third DUI, Smith was released by the 49ers.
On September 11, 2015, Smith signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders.
During the season-opening 20–17 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football, Smith played in a regular season game for the first time since November 15, 2015. He tied for a team-high 11 tackles (one for loss), had his first sack of the season, and had two quarterback hits on Jared Goff. Two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks, Smith sacked Russell Wilson thrice, had two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and a pass deflection in the 38–31 road loss. After posting four sacks in the first three games, Smith's production decreased considerably in the following weeks (tallying only one more sack) and he also was limited with a knee injury. His time on the field was reduced in favor of playing defensive end Randy Gregory. During a Week 14 30–7 road victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Smith recovered a fumble lost by running back Trayveon Williams and returned it 78 yards (fifth longest in franchise history) for his first NFL touchdown.
On April 4, 2016, Smith re-signed with the Raiders. On October 27, 2016, he applied for reinstatement. However, no reinstatement occurred, resulting in Smith sitting out the entire 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons.
On March 9, 2017, Smith was a passenger with a friend driving to Smith's house at 12:00 am, when the San Francisco Police Department found out both Smith and the driver were under the influence after hitting a police car. Even though Smith was not the driver, both Smith and his friend were detained by the San Francisco Police Department for questioning. The next day, Smith and his friend were released and no arrests were made.
On September 23, 2017, it was announced that Smith had agreed to plead no contest to hit and run in the 2015 incident in exchange for the DUI charges being dropped. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail. During his sentence, Smith was ordered to attend a treatment facility and undergo anger management classes. After his release, Smith was prohibited from entering any bars or other establishments where alcohol is the primary commodity being sold.
On March 3, 2018, a woman had called the police from Smith's home and reported that he had consumed multiple bottles of tequila and then bit her wrists. Smith reportedly fled the home before police arrived. San Francisco police did not comment on the specifics, but did state that domestic violence of a "non-lethal" nature had occurred and they were seeking out Smith for questioning about the incident. On March 23, Smith was arrested for violation of a court order, where he was ordered to stay away from a woman he assaulted earlier in the month. The woman was revealed to be Smith's fiancée. This picked up from the previous incident that occurred on March 3, where Smith pleaded not guilty on four misdemeanor counts, including: domestic violence, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, false imprisonment, and vandalism. On April 8, he was arrested for violations in conditions to his bail.
Following an alleged domestic violence incident, the Raiders released Smith on March 5, 2018.
On June 11, 2019, Smith was stopped by police in Mission, Kansas for a traffic violation, and later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
On March 14, 2020, it was reported Smith was "in the process" of applying for reinstatement from an indefinite league suspension. He signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys on April 2, 2020, after impressing with his conditioning and size (287 pounds). On May 26, 2020, Smith was conditionally reinstated by the NFL and was cleared to take place in the Cowboys' virtual off-season program.
On April 15, 2021, Smith signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks. On August 11, he was released by the team.
On April 19, 2021, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for Smith for second-degree battery. Smith surrendered two days later and was released on a $25,000 bond with an arraignment scheduled for July 14.
On December 7, Smith was arrested for driving under the influence in San Mateo County. On April 7, 2023, he was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading no contest to a felony charge stemming from this incident.
Following his release from jail on October 24, 2023, Smith stated that he was "done with (foot)ball".