Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith was suspended for a minimum of a year a little over a year ago, and he’s looking to play football again.

The NFL appears to want to pretend as if that didn’t happen.

“We announced a year ago on Nov. 17 that he would be suspended for a minimum of one year,” an NFL spokesman told Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “Smith was eligible to apply for reinstatement no sooner than 60 days before the one-year anniversary of the suspension.

“We do not have a comment on the potential for his return. We would only comment if and when the player was reinstated.”

Source: ESPN