Aldon Smith suspension not reduced due to counseling requirement, per Ed Werder

ESPN's Ed Werder is reporting Aldon Smith did not see his suspension reduced because he did not fulfill a counseling requirement. Smith will return to action next week when the San Francisco 49ers face the New York Giants.

Previously, multiple reports indicated Smith had negotiated the opportunity to return earlier than nine games in exchange for not appealing his suspension. There was some thought it would happen before last week's game against the St. Louis Rams or this week's game against the New Orleans Saints. This is the first report indicating a possible reason why it did not happen. There is no more detail on whether it means he did not go to NFL-mandated counseling, or he did not go to enough. It just reportedly relates to counseling.

Earlier this week, Smith's agent tweeted this:

Let me be very clear! @AldonSmith complied with EVERY guideline and all rules. Was exceptional in the community. More to come.

— Doug Hendrickson (@DHendrickson41) November 5, 2014

Given Werder's report, we'll keep an eye out for more details. I have to think either local or national media will take a deeper dive into this story and see what's what.