Barring any more off-field issues, Oakland Raiders defensive end Aldon Smith will reportedly be reinstated by the NFL this March.
#Raiders LB Aldon Smith will be reinstated in March, sources say, barring a slip up in the drug program. His request was deferred in Dec.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2017
Smith was suspended back in November of 2015 and applied for reinstatement a year afterwards, this past November. However, despite his belief that he’d be reinstated quickly the NFL deferred the decision until the start of the new league year, which is this March.
One of the most talented pass rushers to enter the NFL in years, Smith tore up the league’s best offensive linemen during his first three years, racking up 42 sacks in his first 43 games. However, off-field issues, including substance abuse issues, derailed his career.
He checked into rehab last year after a video emerged of him supposedly rolling up a blunt, and we haven’t heard anything negative since then.
If Smith does stay out of trouble and returns to the Raiders, Smith will only add to what is already one of the best young teams in the NFL.