A year and a half after he was shot in the head, Stedman Bailey hasn’t given up on football.
Bailey, the former Rams receiver who hasn’t played since he survived two bullets to the head on November 25, 2015, told TMZ he wants to keep playing and thinks an upcoming surgery will make him more likely to get cleared medically.
“Got a procedure coming up that will increase my chances of stepping back out there drastically,” Bailey said. “I damn sure owe it to myself to try everything within my power to get back on the field.”
Bailey added, however, that it’s possible his doctors will tell him after the surgery that he’s simply never going to be able to play again, and if that happens he will accept it.
“After this procedure if doctors think it’s too risky for my health and well being then I’ll accept that this door has closed in my life,” he said.
Bailey spent last offseason working with the Rams’ coaches and last season working with the coaches at his alma mater, West Virginia. So if he can’t play again, coaching would seem to be the logical next step. But a step away from playing isn’t a step Bailey is ready to make just yet.