Aldon Smith, Former 49ers All-Pro, Dies at 36

Aldon Smith, a linebacker of rare and celebrated gifts, has died at 36 — taken far too soon from a world that first knew him as one of professional football's most electrifying defensive forces. Drafted seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, he rose quickly to All-Pro recognition before his career traced a more complicated arc, one that speaks to the invisible burdens carried by those who perform at the highest levels of human competition. His passing invites the NFL community, and perhaps all of us, to reckon with the distance between what we see on a field and the full weight of