Raiders’ Aldon Smith Pushing For Return
Aldon Smith is pushing to return this season and he’s taking the first step towards getting back on the field. The Raiders linebacker is setting up a meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell or another high-ranking official to state his case for reinstatement, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The 60-day decision for Roger Goodell to make a decision on Smith has passed, but a decision is expected soon. Despite his missteps, Smith and his reps believe that they can make a compelling case for him to play this year. Goodell has a reputation for ruling with an iron fist, but he has shown a willingness to give second or third chances in the past. This year, he opened the door for Josh Gordon to return to the Browns early on in the year, though Gordon did not make good on his end of the bargain.
Smith was handed a one-year suspension November of last year. In the offseason, he inked a two-year, $11.5MM deal with Oakland that did not include any guaranteed money. The Raiders have been hopeful about getting him in uniform this year, but they have been doing pretty well without him. After their 38-24 win against the Bills, the Raiders are 10-2.
Raiders’ Aldon Smith Unlikely To Play In 2016
8:39pm: The 60-day decision for Roger Goodell to make a decision on Smith has passed, since he applied for reinstatement Oct. 3, but a decision is expected soon, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. And despite not having played in a game since last November, the former All-Pro pass-rusher would be ready to play immediately, a source informs Florio. The 10-2 Raiders travel to face the 9-3 Chiefs on Thursday night, so a possible window for reinstatement could come in that 10-day break if Goodell deems Smith fit to return to work.
3:12pm: The Raiders are not expecting edge rusher Aldon Smith to return to the field this season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The NFL was supposed to have made a decision on Smith’s reinstatement by December 2, but Oakland has not heard back from the league as of yet. As such, the Raiders are “not counting” on Smith playing in 2016, and would consider any production from him to be a “bonus.”
[RELATED: Latest On Raiders’ Relocation Efforts]
Smith was suspended for a one calendar year in November 2015, but still agreed to a two-year, $11.5MM contract with the Raiders this spring. The deal contains no guaranteed money, and is heavily incentives through gameday active bonuses and performance raises, none of which Smith is earning while on suspension. He won’t earn any of the contract, in fact, unless he can get back on the field at some point.
Smith, 27, checked into a rehab facility this summer following a social media incident during which he may have been shown smoking marijuana. According to Rapoport, that rehab stay was extended by 60 days after Smith met with counselors and doctors. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, meanwhile, expressed his support for Smith earlier this year.
“Aldon is doing well,” McKenzie said. “That situation is going to be totally up to the league because he’s been in the program and they’ve monitored him. It’s up to Goodell to say yah, nay or when. And he could say no to everything … that part is out of our hands. The league will take everything into consideration and Aldon will have to meet with [Roger] Goodell at some point.”
A meeting between Smith and Goodell has yet to take place, and per Rapoport, it’s unclear if it ever will.
NFL Wants Raiders To Stay In Oakland
- Raiders owner Mark Davis wants to move his club to Las Vegas, and he may or may not have the requisite support from his fellow owners to do so, but the league office believes that Oakland is the stronger market. Per La Canfora, the league will set forth the relative merits of the Oakland market in an upcoming NFL meeting in Dallas, and it is expected to do what it can to slow the move to Vegas.
Latest On Raiders’, Chargers’ Relocation
Although the Raiders and owner Mark Davis appear to be moving full-steam ahead with their plan to relocate to Las Vegas, not every NFL owner is on board, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (all links to Twitter). Multiple owners voiced various concerns with a potential move to Las Vegas at a recent league financial meeting, per Cole, who adds the NFL is now viewing the situation as a choice between two poor options.
At least two owners on the 15-man finance committee voiced concerns about the “logic” of transferring the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas, according to Cole, adding substance to recent reports that have indicated that Las Vegas’ small market size — not its reputation — is giving owners pause. League officials seem to agree, as they presented a study that showed Vegas would have the smallest “potential season ticket base” in the NFL, per Cole.
Another owner was skeptical of the relationship between Davis and financier Sheldon Adelson, and even argued that the Raiders should be wedged out of the NFL’s local revenue sharing agreement if they relocate to Vegas. Meanwhile, owners aren’t sold on Fortress Investment Group, which is set to contribute $600MM in private money towards a new stadium, and don’t believe the company is “trustworthy,” reports Cole.
On the Chargers, Cole corroborates Jim Trotter of ESPN.com’s recent report that the Bolts are likely to move to Los Angeles in the near future, although no “definitive statement” was made at the league’s meetings. The Chargers are progressing towards a deal with the Rams to share a stadium in Inglewood, California, but owner Dean Spanos “loves” San Diego, per Cole, and is presumably ready to exhaust every effort to stay put.
Raiders Place D.J. Hayden On IR
SATURDAY, 3:47pm: Oakland made the move to place Hayden on IR, replacing the fourth-year corner on their active roster with defensive lineman Branden Jackson, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. A rookie UDFA from Texas Tech, Jackson has not played this season.
FRIDAY, 2:47pm: D.J. Hayden‘s season is over. The Raiders announced that they will place the cornerback on injured reserve. 
Hayden suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s victory over the Panthers. Now, Oakland will move forward without its No. 3 cornerback. In his place, T.J. Carrie will probably see an increase in playing time.
With Sean Smith David Amerson, Dexter McDonald, and Antonio Hamilton already on the roster, the team may not need to add another cornerback. Amerson missed Week 12 with a knee injury, but he appears on track to play this weekend.
Hayden is currently ranked as the 100th best cornerback in the NFL out of 120 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. He has poor grades for both coverage and run defense, but he has a better-than-average pass rush grade. He has been on the field for 476 snaps this year, which is significantly higher than Carrie’s total to date.
In May, the Raiders declined Hayden’s fifth-year option. Instead of earning $8.03MM in 2017, Hayden will be eligible for free agency.
Latest On Mario Edwards Jr.
- Raiders coach Jack Del Rio still expects defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. to return this year, Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com tweets. Del Rio is uncertain when Edwards would come back, however. The second-year man went on injured reserve with a hip ailment prior to Week 1 and still hasn’t played this season. If the Raiders designate Edwards to return from IR, they’ll have a three-week window to activate him.
Latest On Futures Of Raiders, Chargers
The Raiders remain on track to file for Las Vegas relocation in January, reports ESPN’s Jim Trotter. And, “barring a miracle,” the Chargers will likely declare their intention to move to Los Angeles at the same time (Twitter link). The Chargers have until Jan. 15 to decide whether to join the Rams in LA.
Both Raiders owner Mark Davis and the Chargers’ Dean Spanos will need 23 of their colleagues to OK their respective moves when they file for relocation. But Davis is in for a “battle royal,” according to Trotter, who adds that certain “old-guard owners” and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are against the idea of putting a team in Las Vegas (Twitter links). Not only would doing so place a franchise in the gambling capital of the United States, but it would also mean trading the the Raiders’ Bay Area market for a smaller one. The Raiders currently play in the league’s sixth-biggest market, whereas Las Vegas is just the country’s 40th-largest market, as Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News wrote in October.
As for Goodell, his wariness of Las Vegas has been known for a while, with a source telling CBS’ Sports Jason La Canfora in October, “Even if this came to a vote early next year, I wouldn’t at all discount Roger’s ability to garner 9-12 votes against [a move] if he believes firmly that Oakland is in the best interest of the league.”
The main reason the Raiders are exploring relocation is because the city of Oakland hasn’t made much progress toward building a new stadium to replace the 50-year-old Coliseum. That may have changed somewhat earlier this week, though, as Mayor Libby Schaaf outlined a financing plan for a potential facility. Schaaf is hoping a combination of $600MM in private money from former Raider Ronnie Lott and the Fortress Investment Group of New York, $300MM from Davis, $200MM in public money and $200MM from the league will entice the Raiders to stay, according to Phil Matler and Andy Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to kicking in $300MM – the same amount he’d put forth for a Las Vegas stadium – Davis would likely have to take on Lott and his group as minority owners. The league’s on board with that idea, per Matler and Ross, but it’s unclear what Davis’ feelings are. At the moment, the plan is for Schaaf & Co. to submit the outline to the league’s owners to demonstrate that they’re serious about keeping the Raiders in Oakland.
The Chargers have shown a desire to stay in San Diego, but they’re “out of ideas” for securing a new stadium and will essentially need a miracle over the next month and a half to avoid relocation, per Trotter (Twitter links). The Chargers and Rams are reportedly progressing toward an LA agreement, so it seems increasingly likely that the Bolts are in their final season in San Diego. While their lease at 49-year-old Qualcomm Stadium runs through 2020, it’s possible the Chargers will break it and spend the next two years either sharing the LA Coliseum with the Rams or playing at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., until the $2.6 billion facility in Inglewood opens in 2019.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/16
Thursday’s practice squad changes:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: S Shamiel Gary
- Placed on practice squad/injured list: S Joe Powell
Green Bay Packers
- Cut: WR Dez Stewart (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DL Demetrius Cherry, TE Ryan O’Malley
Breer: NFL To Monitor Oakland Proposal
Earlier today, we highlighted two noteworthy items from Albert Breer’s latest column. Breer hears that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin could garner NFL offensive coordinator consideration this offseason. Also, an NFLPA source tells Breer that the Raiders may have to add salary this year in order to hit the CBA’s mandated minimum spend.
- For all the talk of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, Breer expects the league to keep close tabs on Oakland’s proposal. That’s because the league wants to maintain a foothold in the North Bay area. Now that the 49ers have moved to Santa Clara, the league is hopeful that the Raiders could expand their fan base with the Bay’s affluent residents. It also helps that Oakland is easier to get to than Santa Clara. Recently, there has been word that the NFL would actually prefer to keep the Raiders in Oakland.
Raiders Must Spend To Reach Salary Minimum
The Raiders have some money burning a hole in their pocket. Sort of. As it stands now, the Raiders will have to spend a certain amount of money to exceed the collective bargaining agreement’s cash-spending floor, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes. 
[RELATED: Breer On Lane Kiffin As An NFL Offensive Coordinator Candidate]
The most recent CBA stipulates that teams must spend a certain amount on payroll over two four-year periods: 2013-16 and 2017-20. In each set, teams are mandated to utilize 89% of the salary cap. The books are set to close on the first period and the Raiders stand as the only team shy of the minimum, a union source says.
Don’t expect the Raiders to go on a spending spree, however. They’re close to where they need to be and they could get there without the help of new contracts. Some players already on the roster have incentives that can be reached in the next month or so and that would help Oakland to crack the threshold. If the Raiders are still short, they may make a move or two to meet the requirement.
The CBA also stipulates that the league-wide spend is higher than 95% of the cap over each period, but that requirement has already been met. Each team has spent more than $500MM on players in the last four years which comes out to roughly $17 billion in cash for players.