Aldon Smith’s family is sending his brain to a research lab in Boston to determine whether CTE played a role in the former NFL defensive lineman’s death on Saturday at age 36.
No cause of death has been released. As part of their investigation, attorneys hired by Smith’s family are looking into chronic traumatic encephalopathy as a contributing factor.
The degenerative brain disease has been found in athletes from contact sports and others exposed to repetitive head trauma, and it has been linked to depression and violent mood swings. CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously.
Smith, a 2011 first-round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers and a 2012 All-Pro, sustained several concussions over the course of his six-year NFL career, according to his family. His once-promising career was derailed by numerous off-field arrests and league suspensions.
“As with anyone who dies so suddenly at such a young age, we understand that there is a great deal of interest in and speculation about Aldon Smith’s passing and we intend to get to the bottom of it,” attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers and Wayne Kendall said Tuesday in a statement. “To that end, we have taken a number of steps including sending his brain to Boston where medical experts will examine it for CTE as well as other damage caused by years of concussions and additional trauma.
“In the meantime, we simply ask you to keep Aldon’s family in our prayers and respect their privacy as they struggle to come to grips with this terrible loss.”
Smith played his first four seasons for the 49ers and totaled 152 tackles, 44 sacks, 81 quarterback hits and five forced fumbles in 50 regular-season games (30 starts). He added another 20 tackles and 5.5 sacks in eight playoff games (six starts) for San Francisco. His 19.5 sacks in 2012 set a franchise single-season mark.
Smith was suspended nine games in 2014 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The 49ers released him in August 2015 after a DUI arrest.
He was arrested 10 times in nine years for a series of incidents, per an ESPN report on Saturday, including an arrest for three felony charges of possessing illegal assault weapons in October 2013.
Smith played nine games (seven starts) for the Oakland Raiders in 2015 before the league suspended him indefinitely for another violation of its substance abuse policy. After missing the entire 2016 and 2017 campaigns, the Raiders released him in March 2018 after an arrest for domestic violence.
The NFL suspended him in April 2020 when he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and he was reinstated from the suspension that May. He played 16 games (all starts) for the Cowboys in 2020.
His career totals were 228 tackles, 52.5 sacks, one interception, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one safety and 103 QB hits in 75 regular-season games (53 starts).
