St. Louis Rams WR Stedman Bailey Prepares to be Reinstated

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen confirmed Monday, St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey will be reinstated from his previous four-game suspension when the NFL officially ratifies its new drug policy, which is expected to happen at some point this week. With the Rams anticipating this event, they released defensive tackle Matt Conrath on Monday to make room for Bailey on the 53-man active roster.

Bailey was suspended right after the draft for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Apparently his violation fell under one of the statutes that is being revised in the new agreement. The second-year receiver had a productive training camp following his suspension, so it should be interesting to see what kind of role he ends up playing in the offense. It’s very possible that he could end up taking snaps from starter Kenny Britt, who still has yet to make a catch during the regular season. But with players like Brian Quick, Austin Pettis, and Chris Givens having stepped up their performance over the past couple weeks, it may be tougher for Bailey to climb his way back up the depth chart.

Conrath, meanwhile, had been added to the 53-man roster last week when defensive end Chris Long was placed on the injured/reserve-designated for return list. With Conrath being the ninth defensive lineman on the roster, it was very unlikely that he was ever going to get in a game unless one of the players ahead of him got hurt, so his release should have very little effect on the team. It’s very possible that he’ll be brought back to the practice squad, where he had been in the week prior to his ascension to the active roster.