Rams waive Bailey

Rams waive WR Stedman Bailey with non-football injury designation

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/16028547/wr-stedman-bailey-waived-los-angeles-rams

OXNARD, Calif. — With receiver Stedman Bailey’s football future still uncertain, the Los Angeles Rams waived him with the non-football injury designation on Tuesday.

Bailey, who is still recovering from two gunshot wounds to the head suffered last November, has not been cleared to return to football activity but has been occupying a spot on the team’s 90-man roster during the offseason training program.

Although Bailey, 25, has been unable to play, he has been attending organized team activities and helping the wide receivers in drills. Should Bailey clear waivers, he’ll revert to the non-football injury list and be able to continue helping out around the team while he recovers.

A team source told ESPN last week that the Rams would like to keep Bailey around, even in a role that doesn’t allow him to play.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said having Bailey around has been a positive for the team.

“It’s been great to have him,” Fisher said. “He’s been in the meetings, been helping out.”

Fisher said at the owners meetings in March that Bailey would seek multiple opinions from doctors and neurologists on not only whether he can play football, but also if he could handle the type of rigorous workout regimen that would put him in position to return to the field.

“He’s going through that evaluation process,” Fisher said in March. “As you can imagine, we don’t think there’s any history out there [for the likes of coming back] after the head wounds and all that.”

Bailey has been adamant about his desire to return to the field, often taking to social media to offer updates on his workout progress.

Tuesday’s move was one of many for the Rams, who shuffled the bottom of their roster.

The team waived Bailey, receiver Kain Colter, defensive tackle Doug Worthington and linebacker Zack Hodges. Los Angeles signed tight end Benson Browne, running back Terrence Magee, defensive tackle Cam Thomas and quarterback Dylan Thompson.