Washington Redskins should give wide receiver Stedman Bailey a chance

On Wednesday, Marshall football players set foot on their college field one last time, to show pro football scouts what they could do. And someone else was with them.

He’d been working to get back at the game for a long time. But the road to recovery was never going to go quickly. In a way, it’s miraculous that he’s gotten where he has.

Stedman Bailey has been out of the NFL for two years, last playing for the St. Louis Rams. Early in the 2015 season, while in Miami, Bailey, while sitting in a car, was shot in the head by unknown assailants. Twice.

Bailey was in critical condition, but he’s since been working tirelessly to return. He was initially told that he might not be a able to walk, or talk, with the same proficiency again. So he decided to skip a few steps and start running routes. Per Grant Taylor of the Herald-Dispatch, Bailey has been all-in on an NFL return for quite some time. Here’s what he said in that article:

"I never had a doubt in my mind that I’d be able to play again. It kind of hurt with reports from doctors that I may not be able to walk or I may have trouble speaking again. Me, just being a positive person that I am, I just waved those reports off like, ‘OK, we’ll see.’ I set it in my mind to show them differently."

More from Riggo's Rag

And so he has. Bailey was clearly a notch above the other players at Marshall’s pro day, and in the near future, he’ll look to join more small-school prospects at their pro days, not only showing off his progress to NFL teams, but providing valuable advice to fringe prospects as well.

Bailey certainly has a valuable background, when it comes to teaching football. The 27-year old was a stout starter for West Virginia before being drafted in the third round by the St. Louis Rams in 2013. His best season saw him record 30 receptions for 435 yards and one touchdown. Bailey gave the Rams a fast player with a bit more polish than his counterpart, Tavon Austin. Bailey’s route running was precise, and he used innate body control to haul in tough catches.

In a sense, Bailey is exactly what the Washington Redskins need. He’s a free agent, set to get the attention of as many teams as he can. So far, he’s had no luck. But this means he will come cheap.

The Washington Redskins have taken chances on players like this in the past. They were patient with Junior Galette, and now he’ll be commanding a good amount of money on the open market. They gave Phil Taylor a platform to return, and before he suffered a setback, it appeared as if he’d be the team’s starting nose tackle in 2017.

Next: Assessing Washington Redskins possible FA defensive linemen

The Washington Redskins should continue this trend, and give Stedman Bailey a chance to come back. He won’t cost much, and the Washington Redskins, with $31 million remaining after the confirmation of the Alex Smith trade, will have more than enough to lock him down. He gives the team, at the very least, depth in the receiving core. But if Bailey’s efforts in the past two years have told us anything, it’s that Stedman Bailey wants to be more than that.

Home/Commanders News