The San Francisco 49ers have had two franchise icons on the defensive line dating back to 1994. It is fun to consider the greatness of Justin Smith vs. Bryant Young.
Justin Smith headed off into the sunset Monday afternoon, announcing his retirement from the NFL. He spent 14 years in the league, split evenly between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers. He was a big presence on the Bengals line, but it was in San Francisco where he came closer to being a house-hold name.
Smith was often overlooked by a lot of NFL fans, but 49ers fans knew what they had in Cowboy.