The 60-day period during which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has to respond to Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith's petition for reinstatement ends this coming Friday.
Smith, who was suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy but allowed to petition for reinstatement after a year away, did so on October 3. Per the collective bargaining agreement, Goodell has 60 days to respond to that petition, so a decision on Smith's future should come this week.
According to ESPN.com, Smith spent 120 days in a rehab center after a video of him and a woman talking about what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette was posted to Periscope. The Raiders are reportedly cautiously optimistic that he will be reinstated.
There is guarded optimism within the Raiders organization that Smith will be reinstated and allowed to finish out the season, which would be a big boost for a team pushing to win the AFC West and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Smith was eligible to be reinstated Nov. 17, one year after the NFL hit him with a one-year banishment for violating the league's substance abuse policy when he was arrested in August 2015 on drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism charges.
ESPN's Ed Werder has reported that, because of the Periscope video, the NFL would investigate whether Smith violated the protocols required of a suspended player seeking reinstatement to the league following a violation of the substance abuse policy.
Smith signed a one-year deal with the Raiders prior to last season after being released by the 49ers and, given his solid play, later signed a two-year extension. When he was suspended, the Raiders stated that they would welcome him back with open arms when the suspension was complete. That appears to still be their stance at this time.
