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There’s been hope around the Raiders that their defense would get reinforced by the returns of Mario Edwards and Aldon Smith before the year is out and it looks like we may see one of those two in action this weekend against the Colts.

Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie discussed both players on Sirius XM NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt and said that Edwards has made good progress since returning to practice in the last few weeks. The defensive end has been on injured reserve since September with a hip injury and McKenzie said this weekend is shaping up to be the end of his absence.

“He’s been practicing here in the last couple of weeks and, so far, he’s been having a really good week this week,” McKenzie said. “No setbacks, so we’re excited to get him on the field. … We’re excited about the guys we’ve got and we’re excited about the way Mario has practiced the last couple of weeks, so we feel pretty good about the nation seeing him this weekend.”

McKenzie didn’t have any real update on Smith as he said he’s still suspended and remains out of the picture until the NFL says otherwise.

Edwards will probably need some time to ramp up after missing the first 14 games of the year, but having him in the mix the next two weeks should help set him up as a piece that can help the Raiders in the playoffs.