Raiders sign suspended LB Smith

He can’t join the team until Nov. 17

The Oakland Raiders signed free agent linebacker Aldon Smith to a two-year contract Monday to return to the team after his one year suspension ends next November.

Smith will not be able to rejoin the team until after his suspension for violating the National Football League’s substance abuse policy ends Nov. 17.

Smith must apply to be reinstated by the commissioner before he is able to return. He can apply 60 days before the suspension ends but will not be allowed to participate in the off-season program or training camp.

Smith signed with the Raiders just before the start of last season after spending his first four years with the San Francisco 49ers. He had 3 1⁄2 sacks in nine games with Oakland.

Smith has been one of the league’s best pass rushers when available with 47 1⁄2 sacks in 59 career games.

His biggest issue has been staying out of trouble. His offfield problems led the 49ers to let him go.

The Niners released Smith on Aug. 7 following his fifth run-in with the law a night earlier on an off day from training camp. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism.

Smith also missed the first

nine games of the 2014 season while serving an NFL suspension for violations of the league’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies. He also missed time during the 2013 season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013.

McCoy avoids charges: Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy won’t be charged over a Philadelphia nightclub brawl that left two off-duty police officers injured.

District Attorney Seth Williams said that he can’t prove who initiated the fight and says it’s legal to act in self-defense or the defense of others.

Defense lawyer Dennis Cogan said McCoy was only trying to break up a fight.

Kaepernick surfaces: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was one of nearly 70 players who showed up for the 49ers’ first day of work under coach Chip Kelly.

Because they brought in a new coaching staff this year, the 49ers are allowed a twoweek head start on the off-season program. Nearly every player on the roster was on hand for the first event, a morning meeting.

The most prominent face in attendance belonged to Kaepernick, who requested a trade in February and who has spent the last three months rehabilitating from recent surgeries in Vail, Colo.

He must attend 90% of the off-season programs to earn a $400,000 bonus.