How Will Stedman Bailey Impact The St. Louis Rams Offense In His Return

With the NFL and NFLPA coming to an agreement earlier this week on a new substance abuse policy making St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey eligible to return two games before his suspension was supposed to be over.

Bailey was suspended during the offseason for the first four games of the NFL season for abusing the league’s substance abuse policy.

However, Bailey is back and he is ready to make an impact, but just how much of an impact will he make? Bailey lead Rams wide receivers in receiving yards in the final five games of the season last year with 155 yards. Not to mention he has shown more versatility as a slot receiver than Tavon Austin and has shown he can run the ball as he had 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground last season.

Bailey followed that up by being the most consistent wideout in training camp and recorded six catches, 87 yards, a touchdown, and made outstanding plays throughout the preseason. Bailey is ready to take the next step and be the playmaker that this offense needs.

Other than Austin Pettis, Bailey has the most reliable hands among the St. Louis Rams receiving corps as last season he only had one dropped pass and had a 77.3% caught which was the best among Rams receivers. However, unlike Petts, Bailey is more of a playmaker and has shown that he can put up numbers on a consistent basis.

We also can’t forget that because Stedman Bailey is a fourth receiver, he has spent time playing with the backup quarterbacks in practice and on the field. Therefore he has built a good chemistry with the quarterbacks on the Rams roster.