The Rams are about to need every edge rusher they can get, and that opens the door for Wesley Bailey.
With Myles Garrett on injured reserve, sophomore edge rusher Josaiah Stewart is first in line to absorb the biggest share of the snaps. But the impact won’t stop there. The whole rotation is going to shift, and that could put Bailey in position to make his first defensive appearance Monday against the New York Giants.
The idea here is simple: nobody is going to replace Garrett on his own. His absence is too large for one player to cover, which is why a committee approach makes the most sense. Stewart is an exciting young option, but he has never made an NFL start, and the Rams can ease that load by mixing in Desjuan Johnson and Bailey more regularly.
That would be welcome news for anyone who watched Bailey’s preseason and training camp, where he turned heads all summer. He has only seen two special-teams snaps in Week 1 against the 49ers so far, while Johnson handled 15 defensive reps behind Garrett and Stewart. Garrett, dealing with a knee issue, played 40 snaps in that game, good for a 62 percent share, but the opportunity ahead is obvious.
Bailey could end up with a workload similar to Johnson’s from last week, and there’s a path to even more if he starts fast. The Louisville product pushed his way onto the roster in a big way, despite the Rams usually carrying only four edge rushers. He made himself impossible to ignore and became the kind of player who would have been a risky waiver claim if he had been cut from the 53-man roster.
At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Bailey brings a frame that looks more like Garrett’s than anyone else’s on the depth chart. He has more length than Stewart, Johnson, or Byron Young, and that matters when it comes to closing on ball carriers and keeping quarterbacks from slipping away once he gets into the backfield.
His long arms also fit with his quick-twitch athleticism, giving him real value as a batted-ball threat at the line. A passing lane can disappear quickly when he gets a hand up, and that combination of traits is exactly why he has looked like such a promising prospect.
Now the Rams may finally have a chance to see it in real game action. With Garrett sidelined and Jared Verse in Cleveland, the team suddenly finds itself short-handed at a spot that was supposed to be one of its biggest strengths. In that situation, keeping Bailey on the sideline would be a luxury the Rams can’t really afford.
In Other News...
Puka Nacuas Breakup Drama Just Took Another Public Turn
Puka Nacuas off-field situation has become a public legal matter in Los Angeles County, where Hallie Aiono filed a petition to determine parental relationship to establish the Rams receiver as the legal father of their unborn son. In the filing, Aiono also requested joint legal custody, with full physical custody for herself, along with financial support tied to the pregnancy, the birth and attorney fees.
Aiono and Nacua have both since posted on social media in ways that suggest they are moving on with new relationships, adding another visible layer to a dispute that is already playing out beyond the courtroom. For a Rams team that has relied on Nacua as one of its most important players, the football side of his year now sits alongside a personal issue that is likely to keep drawing attention until the legal process runs its course. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Defense Faces A Big Week 2 Availability Question
The Rams opened the week with a familiar sort of early-season injury report, and the focus quickly landed on the defensive side. Kam Curl, Omar Speights and Nate Landman were all limited in practice because of injuries, while Kam Kinchens sat out entirely with a hamstring issue. Davante Adams also received a veteran rest day, but the bigger concern for Los Angeles is how healthy its defense can be heading into a Week 2 matchup with the Giants.
Myles Garrett was also placed on injured reserve, adding another layer to a group already being monitored closely before Sunday. The Giants have their own list of affected players, including Paulson Adebo, who did not practice because of a knee injury, but the Rams are the team with the clearest question hanging over the week: how many of their defensive pieces will actually be ready when the game gets here? [Read more 🡒]
Former Rams Receiver Charged After Deeply Embarrassing Arrest
A former Rams receivers name resurfaced this week for the wrong reason, with Stedman Bailey arrested in Florida after an incident at a Pembroke Lakes Mall entertainment complex. Police were called to the Round1 Bowling & Arcade after a witness reported Bailey and a woman engaging in explicit sexual activity, turning what should have been a routine public outing into an ugly and deeply embarrassing scene.
Bailey was later charged with one misdemeanor count of exposure of sexual organs, and he admitted to officers that his pants were down. He reportedly blamed heavy alcohol consumption for his behavior while denying that physical penetration occurred, leaving another jarring off-field headline for a player whose NFL career already feels long removed from the field. [Read more 🡒]