Raiders GM: We'll welcome Aldon Smith back if reinstated

Aldon Smith still has a roster spot waiting for him in Oakland.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said Thursday in an appearance on 95.7 The Game that, although the team isn't counting on his return, Smith will be welcomed back if reinstated from suspension.

"He's still on the suspension list and that will be revisited in March by Commissioner Goodell. We're still waiting until he signs off on it," McKenzie said, according to Daniel Mano of The Bay Area News Group. "We won't count on him until he's able to get off that list and be available to us. That's a decision that's going to be made at that point. We'll welcome him if, and when, that happens."

Smith had been awaiting word on his potential reinstatement after reaching the one-year mark on his most recent ban in November. There appeared to be some hope in the weeks that followed, but the NFL eventually opted to put off a decision and revisit his case in March.

A recent report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport suggested that, provided that he avoids any further slip-ups in relation to the league's drug program, Smith will indeed be reinstated at that time.

As they've vowed to do ever since signing him prior to the 2015 season, the Raiders are remaining patient and standing by Smith.

"We knew he was on the list and it's up to the commissioner to reinstate him," McKenzie said. "No one told me that he was going to get reinstated. It's all a process."

For what it's worth, Smith appeared confident in a recent Instagram Live session that he'll soon receive clearance from the league office.

"I'm back," Smith said on Instagram Live, according to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "And there's nobody who can stop me."

"You already know it. Raider Nation, we got this s---."

The 27-year-old's most recent suspension came as a result of DUI, hit and run, and vandalism charges that led to his August 2015 release from the San Francisco 49ers.

The league was also reviewing the situation surrounding a Periscope video from last offseason, where Smith seemed to be smoking marijuana. He later denied that he was in the video, and the NFL hasn't indicated how, or if, it impacted his case for reinstatement.

Smith would join Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin to round out a stellar trio of Raiders edge-rushers in the event he's reinstated for the 2017 season. The former first-round pick racked up 44 sacks over 50 games in San Francisco, including a career-best 19.5 en route to First-Team All-Pro honors in 2012.