Champ Bailey did not make the 53-man roster of the New Orleans Saints and has been released by the team, according to NFL Media’s Albert Breer, after he signed a one-year deal with during the offseason.
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Bailey, 36, may have played his last game in the NFL after the Denver Broncos parted ways with him at the beginning of the offseason and he was only signed to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $500,000, so considering the lack of interest in the future Hall of Famer, it is likely he is Canton-bound in five years.
The decision to release came down to keeping him or keeping Brian Dixon and after Dixon tweeted the news that he made the 53-man roster, it was only a matter of time until the news was made official that Bailey did not make it through the final round of cuts.
It was incredibly telling about the state of Bailey and his tenuous place on the Saints when he played the entire first quarter in the team’s fourth preseason game before exiting with what looked like an injury to his hand as it was taped up.
Bailey was selected to 12 Pro Bowl teams as one of the premier cornerbacks in his generation after he was taken with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft out of Georgia.
He has 52 career interceptions and is a surefire bet to be a first ballot Hall of Famer when eligible after the customary five-year waiting period.
Did the Saints make the right move or should they have found a way to keep him on the roster?