Stedman Bailey’s struggle to return to football after suffering two gunshot wounds to the head last November may still continue, but after Tuesday it might be with another team. The Los Angeles Rams officially cut Bailey Tuesday with a “non-football injury” designation.
Rams waived WR Stedman Bailey with the Non-football injury designation, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 7, 2016
It may seem like a cold move for the Rams. Bailey attended the team’s organized team activities last week but did no drills. According to ESPN, Bailey mainly spent his time there advising some of the other wide receivers.
“It’s been great to have him,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said last week. “He’s been in the meetings, been helping out. We’ll have some information here shortly, I’m sure.”
The information turned out to be the release of the 25-year-old wideout and former third round pick. The Rams drafted Bailey the same year they traded up in the first round to take his teammate Tavon Austin, both out of the University of West Virginia. Bailey looked like a solid pick in the third round and in his second season caught 30 passes for 435 yards and a touchdown. It was also the season that Bailey was involved in one of the sweetest trick play punt returns you’ll ever see.
Last season in just eight games before he was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. It’s while he was on that suspension he was shot twice in a drive by shooting on Nov. 24.
Bailey has been advised by his doctors to not play football again, but it’s obvious the young, once-promising wide receiver has yet to give up. The Rams want to keep him in the building, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN, but need his roster spot and cap space.
Bailey must clear waivers to officially revert to the non-football injury list and not count against the Rams 90-man roster. It’s unlikely a team will put a claim on him. Bailey signed a four-year, $2.736 million contract with the Rams as a rookie. Considering it’s a non-football injury, I’m not sure how the cap situation for Bailey wold work this year, but the $127,972 left from his prorated signing bonus will probably be dead money.
Bailey wasn’t the only Ram released Tuesday, just the saddest story. The Rams also cut defensive end Doug Worthington who’s been bouncing around the league since 2010. The Rams added him to the roster in 2014 and he played in two games in 2015, recovering one fumble. Turns out that is, legitimately, his career highlight. Before that he recorded a total of two tackles and defended one pass in 2012 with the Washington Redskins.
Joining Worthington was wide receiver Kain Colter, who has never caught a pass in the NFL and outside linebacker Zack Hodges, who has never recorded a single tackle.
So who did the Rams add to the roster after cutting all these guys loose? Tight end Benson Browne, running back Terrence Magee, defensive tackle Cam Thomas and quarterback Dylan Thompson.
DT Doug Worthington also waived by the Rams today. They signed TE Benson Browne, RB Terrence Magee, DT Cam Thomas and QB Dylan Thompson.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) June 7, 2016
Browne was an undrafted rookie out of NC State. He played just one season, caught four passes but two of them went for touchdowns. He’s 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds.
Magee spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens and appeared in four games. He carried the ball twice for five yards and caught one pass for two yards. He also returned one kick for 28 yards. He’s 5-foot-9, 215 pounds and played his college ball at LSU.
Thomas is the most experienced player the Rams added to the roster. He’s been in the league since 2010 and was a fifth-round pick by the San Diego Chargers. He played in a 4-3 system in San Diego from 2010-2013, appearing in 54 games and starting 15. In 2014 he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a 3-4 defensive end, played in 31 games over two seasons and started 10. His best year was 20111 when he recorded 13 tackles, one pass defense and four sacks.
The final addition was former South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson, who spent most of last season on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. He took over as the No. 2 quarterback on Nov. 21 when Colin Kaepernick was placed on injured reserve. The 49ers cut Thompson Monday, but he didn’t stay out of work for long.
Thompson started one year for the Gamecocks in 2014, completing 59.9 percent of his passes for 3,564 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
