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One of Champ Bailey's rougher years in his career has seemingly piqued with his release from the New Orleans Saints:
Saints released WR Robert Meachem and CB Champ Bailey.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2014
Bailey was brought into Dove Valley in early March, told of his release and supposedly not even offered any type of contract renegotiation. He was signed by New Orleans, where he wasn't able to get his number 24 jersey number and spent most of training camp injured.
His statistics this preseason left much to be desired:
| WK | Game Date | Opp | Result | G | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-Aug | @ STL | W 26-24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 15-Aug | TEN | W 31-24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 | 23-Aug | @ IND | W 23-17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| 4 | 28-Aug | BAL | L 13-22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| TOTAL | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bailey participated in two games this preseason and started in Week Four, only notching 3 total tackles.
For his career, Bailey should be a first ballot Hall of Famer:
| Year | Team | G | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | TDs | Yds | Avg | Lng |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Denver Broncos | 5 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | -- | 3 | -- | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
| 2012 | Denver Broncos | 16 | 66 | 61 | 5 | 0 | -- | 9 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 18 |
| 2011 | Denver Broncos | 13 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 0 | -- | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Denver Broncos | 15 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 1 | -- | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Denver Broncos | 16 | 74 | 63 | 11 | 0 | -- | 15 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 11 |
| 2008 | Denver Broncos | 9 | 44 | 39 | 5 | 1 | -- | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | Denver Broncos | 15 | 84 | 71 | 13 | 0 | -- | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 2006 | Denver Broncos | 16 | 85 | 73 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 162 | 16.2 | 70T |
| 2005 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 64 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 139 | 17.4 | 65T |
| 2004 | Denver Broncos | 16 | 81 | 68 | 13 | 0 | -- | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | Washington Redskins | 16 | 71 | 67 | 4 | 0 | -- | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2002 | Washington Redskins | 16 | 68 | 62 | 6 | 0 | -- | 19 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 |
| 2001 | Washington Redskins | 16 | 50 | 48 | 2 | 0 | -- | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 5.7 | 12 |
| 2000 | Washington Redskins | 16 | -- | -- | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 9.6 | 48 |
| 1999 | Washington Redskins | 16 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 11 | 59T |
| TOTAL | 215 | 785 | 699 | 86 | 3 | 0 | 142 | 52 | 4 | 464 | -- | 70 |
It just does not get much better than that for a cornerback in his career. Bailey, always the professional will be missed by Broncos fans.
Will he signed by another team, or does his countdown to the Broncos Ring of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame start now? Either way...
A Mile High Salute for Champ!