It looks like the Rams will be down a receiver for the first four games of the 2014 season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey has been suspended for a violation of the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. If Bailey is suspended, he’ll be allowed to practice with the team through the end of the summer and play in preseason games before missing the first month of the season.
Bailey was a third-round pick last year and caught 17 passes for 226 yards while playing in all 16 games. Bailey also had a 27-yard touchdown run and the Rams will miss him as they work to put a more productive offense in place as the season gets underway.
The Rams didn’t select a receiver during the draft, although they, like the Browns with Josh Gordon, would have known that Bailey was facing a suspension. With Bailey out of the lineup, the Rams will cobble together an early receiver group out of Tavon Austin, Chris Givens, Austin Pettis, Brian Quick and Kenny Britt.