The Rams waived wide receiver Stedman Bailey with a non-football injury designation last week, removing him from the roster as he continues to recover after being shot in the head last November.
The transaction puts a hold on Bailey’s attempt to return to the field, but he says he doesn’t see it as a permanent one. Bailey won’t give up on the comeback effort or on feeling grateful that he can even consider the prospect.
“I definitely feel like I have a chance to step back on the field and be able to continue playing football,” Bailey said, via the Associated Press. “I’m able to wake up every day and smile. Like Coach [Jeff Fisher] said, I’m very lucky to still be alive. I went through a whole lot. Just the fact that I’m not able to be out here and actually be playing football right now has been the toughest part, but I’ve got so many things to be grateful about that I’m able to overlook those things and just smile, because I’m still here.”
Bailey cleared waivers and is now on the Rams’ NFI list, which allows him to stay around the team.
“I’m going to be selfish and try to bring him over on the coaching side,” Fisher said, via the Los Angeles Times. “There’s a lot of work behind the scenes that needs to be done, so we’ll put him behind a desk and bring him out on the field and see how he likes it.”
Bailey said that doctors told him it might take a full year before he feels normal again, so we’ll see if things turn out differently in 2017.