The line in the release from an NFL spokesman was plain, sent out on May 30, 2014: "Daryl Washington of the Arizona Cardinals has been suspended without pay for at least one year for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse."

At least is a key phrase. We have passed the one-year mark. Many have asked me (many times) what the news is on Daryl Washington and where he stands. As of today, there is no news. He stands in the same place where he's been since May 30 of last year. Suspended, awaiting reinstatement from the NFL. Mike Jurecki reported recently that Washington himself doesn't know where his reinstatement is headed. (No one is saying if Washington officially applied for reinstatement, but it had been expected.) The Cardinals don't have anything to say on the subject because, frankly, there is nothing to say until and if Washington is reinstated. Bruce Arians told azcentral.com the subject is "a waste of breath."

But on the idea of whether Washington should be a Cardinal again, Arians added, "I think each and every guy has different circumstances. If he's reinstated by the league, I know this -- our players want him back in the locker room. That's fine by me."

We've discussed the other obstacles many times. Washington still could be punished for the assault plea he took in early 2014, before the current suspension. Until he is reinstated for the current suspension, there won't be anything known about the other possibility. And of course, there are fences to mend, if not in the locker room or with Arians, then probably with the front office and ownership.

Few want to hear that it's wait and see, but truly, it's wait and see.