Oakland Raiders: Aldon Smith’s reinstatement claims questionable at best
Suspended Oakland Raiders star Aldon Smith claims that he’ll be reinstated shortly, but it’s best to remain skeptical about that for now.
Prior to Derek Carr’s broken fibula, many people believed that the Oakland Raiders were the second-best team in the AFC. Whether that was the case or not was never truly able to be proven due to the injury. However, one thing that we can say for certain is that their weakness would’ve been on the defensive side of the ball.
The Raiders were mediocre at best outside of their pass rush last season on the defensive side of the ball. That’s obviously a major reason why they focused their draft efforts on defense early on. However, the organization and Raiders fans also entered the offseason hoping that suspended defensive end Aldon Smith would be reinstated and return to the team.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened to this point. Despite the fact that other suspended players such as Martavis Bryant and Daryl Washington have been granted their reinstatement, Smith remains sidelined due to his suspension. However, if you ask him, that won’t be for long.
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In an Instagram Live video on Sunday, Smith claimed to his fans and those watching that he will be reinstated soon, per Raiders Wire of USA Today. Again, that’s what Smith is claiming. There has been no word from the league regarding his status or any real movement at all outside of these claims on social media.
Frankly, it’s not hard to see why Smith has not yet been reinstated. Smith was suspended for one year in Nov. 2015 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy after a DUI and hit-and-run incident earlier in the year. While players hoping for reinstatement often do their best to stay clear of trouble, it’s found Smith still — or maybe he’s found it. He’s been involved in numerous legal incidents that have been made public, though he’s not been arrested for and/or convicted of any crimes.
While he’s not been arrested, it’s difficult to say that he’s been doing a stellar job of proving himself to the league in regards to his reinstatement. And with the likes of Washington and Bryant having already been granted theirs, you have to wonder why Smith is so confident that his is coming as it would’ve made since if his reinstatement was included in the compact timeframe where those two players were granted a way back into the league.
As far as on the field, though, the reasons as to why the Raiders would want him back on the defense aren’t hard to come by. When healthy and engaged, Smith is one of the most fearsome pass rushers in the league. So putting him on a front with the likes of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin has the chance to create a devastating force for opposing offenses.
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However, fans should be skeptical at the most of his claims that he’ll be back “soon.” There are no signs that point to that, and we’ve heard him confidently make such declarations — or something similar — before. If he does get reinstated, that’s a huge bonus. But it’d be unwise to get your hopes up at this point.