While it is hard to feel sorry for Aldon Smith because he did this to himself, it still feels a little heavy-handed by the league.
It has been over a year, not sure why they need to wait until March, but that is what they are going to do according to Pro Football Talk.
Per a league source, the NFL has decided not to reinstate Smith for the remainder of the 2016 season. Instead, his case will be revisited on March 15, 2017.
Smith was permanently banished from the NFL in November 15, with the ability to be reinstated after one year. He applied for reinstatement in early October. At one point, it was argued that the Commissioner has only 60 days to make a decision; that position was proven to be incorrect based on the strict language of the substance-abuse policy and, ultimately, the fact that a decision wasn’t made within 60 days.
The Raiders needed all the help they could get after the injury to Derek Carr.