Aldon Smith says he’s ready to play football again and believes he has met the requirements of his year-long banishment from the NFL. Nevertheless, it’s been over a month since he was deemed eligible for reinstatement and the public hasn’t been offered even a morsel of meaningful information as to the direction Smith’s situation is headed.

That may have changed on Sunday night.

Shortly after the game in San Diego, Smith appears to have made a stealthy appearance on Khalil Mack’s live Instagram. The post has come and gone, but more than one of Mack’s quick-fingered followers saved what appears to be a message from Smith’s verified Instagram feed.

“I’m back.”

More than a few separate screenshots (and by different users) would suggest this isn’t an act of Photoshop. The first to bring attention to the shot (to me at least) was @JLK1993 on twitter.

Maybe it means nothing, particularly considering the source. But assuming the message actually came from the Raiders suspended linebacker (and that’s probably a fair presumption), the obvious assumption is that he’s talking about reinstatement.

Maybe he’s talking about being back in the playoffs, but considering he’s still suspended, that wouldn’t actually be the case. Another theory is that Smith believes he’ll be reinstated after the regular season and with the Raiders now in the playoffs, he knows he will be back.

Your guess is as good as any.

twitter: @raidersbeat