ALAMEDA — The Raiders are adamant about supporting suspended linebacker Aldon Smith, but league rules will severely limit the extent of that support.

“Obviously, as an organization, we’re going to do everything we can to support him,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said Wednesday. “(But) there’s not a whole lot you can do when you’re basically told that you can’t have contact, he can’t be part of the team.”

Smith was suspended for a year by the NFL Tuesday for violation of the league’s policy on substance abuse. The penalty was severe because he was a repeat offender.

In a statement released to the media, Smith promised he would be “taking this time to work on myself and become the man I need to be, my team and my organization needs me to be, and I know I can be.”

Del Rio said Wednesday the Raiders would move on as if Smith were an injured player. Smith’s life, however, will be nothing like that of an injured player.

Unlike defensive end Justin Tuck, out for the season with a torn pectoral and on injured reserve, Smith won’t be able to rehab at the facility with his teammates, join in meetings, be on the sideline during games or talk to his coaches.

Smith’s only visits to the facility will be to visit with a “treating clinician” who will be designated to oversee his treatment.

The policy states Smith must “vacate the premises immediately following termination of the treatment session with the Treating Clinician.”

There will be counseling and random drug tests. Smith can apply for reinstatement 60 days prior to a calendar year, but the suspension would likely stay in place if he has any slip-ups in the program.

The closest thing Smith will have to a lifeline with the organization will be director of player engagement Lamonte Winston, who according to the policy can speak with him by phone every two weeks.

It is through Winston the Raiders will have their lone organizational contact directly with Smith.

Neither Winston nor general manager Reggie McKenzie were available for comment regarding Smith or the league’s policy on contact with suspended players.

Players will be free to maintain a relationship with Smith away from the facility. Smith joined a number of teammates for dinner Wednesday night.

Defensive end Khalil Mack said he would miss Smith as a teammate but will remain his friend.

“We’re not going to see him every day, but we’re going to be in contact,” Mack said. “It’s unfortunate, but you’ve got to roll with the blows, man.”

Smith’s suspension, though widely expected around the league, caught some members of the locker room by surprise.

“When we signed him, I thought it was done with,” said quarterback Derek Carr, who said he didn’t know all the specifics surrounding Smith’s off-the-field trouble. “I had no clue (the suspension) was going to happen, so that was hard, but it is what it is.”

Veteran safety Charles Woodson was in the same boat.

“I don’t think after he signed, nobody even gave it much thought about it even being a possibility of him being suspended,” Woodson said on a conference call with Detroit media ahead of Sunday’s game with the Lions. “So I’m pretty shocked, much like everybody else.”

The locker room carried a somber tone for the second straight day now that Smith’s suspension has been announced. It was 24 hours earlier that teammates began learning of the punishment as Smith went around the room saying his good-byes.

Mack, who called Smith a “great person, a great teammate, a great friend” was one person who said he wasn’t surprised by the suspension.

“You kind of knew something was going eventually to happen,” Mack said. “But at the same time, there’s not really too much focus that’s trying to be on that right now. We’ve got to get ready for Detroit and he knows it.”

Smith came to the Raiders on a one-year contract which will expire while he is still on suspension. Both sides expressed optimism Smith would return to the Raiders.

In the meantime, Del Rio said the Raiders would do the best they could to keep tabs on Smith from the league-mandated distance.

“We’ll make sure that the people that can help … can ensure everything is being done properly for the benefit of the young man,” Del Rio said.

Asked if he would like to see the league be more flexible when it comes to being in contact with suspended players, Del Rio said, “There are a lot of rules I would like to see changed. They’re not waiting for me to declare which rules, but I certainly think that’s something that could be looked at.”