Aldon Smith said on social media over the weekend that he expects to be reinstated in the near future, but there are plenty of reasons to believe the star linebacker is being overly optimistic.
As Daniel Mano of the East Bay Times notes, several Twitter users wrote on Saturday evening that Smith spoke to fans via an Instagram live session and told them he is going to be reinstated by the NFL “soon.” However, neither the Oakland Raiders nor the NFL have said anything about Smith recently, and the Raiders actually issued his No. 99 jersey to an undrafted rookie who signed with the team.
Smith’s NFL career has been littered with legal issues, and he missed the entire 2016 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He was hoping to be reinstated back in March, but he was investigated for a domestic violence incident the month before and then involved in a bizarre incident in which his girlfriend collided with a police cruiser while driving Smith’s car. Smith denied reports that he had any involvement with the crash, but he revealed some information in an incredibly bizarre interview with reporters while leaving the police station.
Even if Smith is reinstated at some point before or during the 2017 season, you have to wonder if the Raiders will keep him under contract. The former No. 7 overall pick simply can’t seem to stay out of trouble.
