Champ Bailey will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday in Canton, Ohio. He will go in as a member of the Denver Broncos, where he spent 10 of his 15 Hall of Fame seasons. Forgotten, are his first five seasons that he spent with the Washington Redskins.
It seems the Redskins may have forgotten as well. During Hall of Fame media availability on Friday, Bailey was asked if he considered entering the Hall of Fame with his former team, the Redskins. His reply was shocking.
“Nobody from Washington had called me until three days ago. Nobody,” Bailey said per Nicki Jhabvala of the Athletic.
The Redskins drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. He was an understudy of another Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green. The two made for a great pair, despite the fact Green was winding down on his stellar 20-year career.
Embed from Getty ImagesWashington ultimately traded Bailey before the 2004 after failing to sign him to a long-term deal. The Redskins shipped Bailey and a second-round pick to the Broncos for running back Clinton Portis.
With that said, there was probably no chance Bailey would chose to enter the Hall of Fame as a Redskin. Still, his claim is surprising.
Bailey said being traded to Denver was the best thing to happen to him, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
Bailey went on to thrive for a decade worth in Denver, appearing in a Super Bowl with the team and becoming one of the best shutdown corners in the league’s history.
Meanwhile, this can count as another mark on the Redskins PR. However, considering all, Bailey’s claim is the least of the Redskins’ worries right now. They are currently tangled in a standoff with Trent Williams and his holdout.
