Aldon Smith was eligible to be reinstated by the NFL on November 17. He spent 120 days with a rehab facility, has reportedly extended his rehab another 60 days and applied for reinstatement last month. He has asked for a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but things remain cold on that front.
Not surprisingly, the Oakland Raiders are no longer holding out much hope Smith will be available this year, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
Time is ticking on #Raiders OLB Aldon Smith & the team is not counting on his return. With just a month to go, sources feel it’s unlikely.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2016
#Raiders OLB Aldon Smith has done all his meetings, extended rehab 60 more days. Wants to meet with Goodell, but nothing scheduled as of yet
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2016
With just four more weeks remaining in the regular season after Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, the Raiders are right to remain bearish on this topic. However, this development is a bit of a left turn from just last week, when the organization was reportedly hopeful Smith would return.
Earlier this week Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said the team had no idea where things stood because the league doesn’t communicate with teams about what goes on during this process.
“They’ll let us know in due time,” McKenzie said of the NFL decision-makers, per Vic Tafur of SFGate.com. “I’m sure they’re in communication with each other with that. But they don’t fill us in on anything in that process.”
Tafur also noted the team has been monitoring Smith’s health from afar, noting his workout videos show him to be in excellent health. Because of this, there is hope he could immediately contribute as a pass rusher on passing downs is the league does reinstate him.
However, as the end of the season creeps closer, the likelihood that Smith can make an impact on Oakland’s season wane with each passing week.