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Champ Bailey

No. 24     Denver Broncos
Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: June 22, 1978 (1978-06-22) (age 31)
Place of birth: Folkston, Georgia
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
College: Georgia
NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Debuted in 1999 for the Washington Redskins
Career history
As player: Washington Redskins (1999–2003) Denver Broncos (2004–present)
Career highlights and awards
Nagurski Trophy (1998) 9× Pro Bowl selection (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) 3× First-team All-Pro selection (2004, 2005, 2006) 3× Second-team All-Pro selection (2000, 2003, 2007)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2008
Tackles	547
Sacks	2.0
Interceptions	43
Stats at NFL.com

Roland "Champ" Bailey (born June 22, 1978) is an American football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Bailey was drafted in the 1st round (7th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Georgia.

High school years

Champ attended and played football at Charlton County High School.

College career

Bailey was regarded as one of college football’s greatest multiple threats (offense, defense and special teams) in his three seasons at the University of Georgia. During his final year at Georgia as a junior, he registered 52 tackles (four for losses), three interceptions, seven passes defensed, 47 catches for 744 yards (15.8 avg.), five touchdowns, 84 yards rushing on 16 carries, 12 kickoff returns for 261 yards and four punt returns for 49 yards. He averaged 103.5 all-purpose yards per game and logged 957 plays (547 defense, 301 offense and 109 special teams) on the way to earning consensus All-America and first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors and claiming the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player following his junior season. Against Virginia in the Peach Bowl, he caught three passes for 73 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown, rushed three times for nine yards, returned five kickoffs for 104 yards, returned a punt 12 yards, and posted two tackles and one pass defensed at cornerback. In three years at Georgia, he played 33 games (24 starts) and recorded 147 total tackles, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, eight interceptions and 27 passes defensed. He was an All-SEC first-team selection as a sophomore, starting every game at left cornerback and one game at wide receiver. Bailey set a school indoor long jump record in 1998 of 25-10 3/4 feet to finish third at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.^[1]

Professional career

1999 NFL Draft

Bailey was drafted in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He was the first player ever drafted from his hometown of Folkston, Georgia, an achievement Bailey states was big for his town to increase its interest in football.

Washington Redskins (1999 to 2003)

On July 24, 1999, Bailey signed a five-year, $9.64 million contract including a $5.2 signing bonus.^[2] Bailey's reputation was established at the professional level.^[3] He was a large presence on a defense that had its ups and downs. He benefited from time spent with iconic cornerbacks Deion Sanders and Darrell Green; both are considered among the best of all time.

Denver Broncos (2004 to present)

Prior to the 2004 season, Bailey was traded to the Broncos along with a second-round draft pick (who ended up being Tatum Bell) for Clinton Portis. Following the trade, he signed a seven-year contract worth $63 million. Bailey has been named to eight consecutive Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams.

On January 14, 2006 in a divisional playoff game between the New England Patriots, Bailey broke the record for the longest non-scoring play in NFL history. With the Patriots poised to score, Bailey intercepted a pass from Tom Brady in the end zone and returned it 100 yards to the one yard line, and fumbled the ball out of bounds, after being chased down and tackled out of bounds by Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson, who also went to Georgia. The Broncos scored a touchdown on the next play. The play was considered the most crucial of the contest, which the Broncos would go on to win, ending the Patriots' quest for a historic third straight Super Bowl title.

On December 3, 2006, the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks did not test Bailey once in the first half. The first time Matt Hasselbeck threw in Bailey’s direction, the cornerback intercepted a deep throw intended for Darrell Jackson.

Hasselbeck was not surprised saying in an interview following the game, "I've thrown him interceptions in my career, who hasn't? He's a great corner, a great cover guy and just a very, very talented guy."

In 2006, Bailey had ten interceptions through the season (tied for the NFL lead with Asante Samuel although Samuel went to the playoffs and intercepted two more passes which he returned for touchdowns). Bailey also did not give up a touchdown during the season. Bailey, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, were unanimous choices for the NFL All-Pro team in 2006. Also in 2006, Ron Jaworski stated during a MNF pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers that Bailey only got tested 35 times and only four passes were completed over him, none for touchdowns.

In an injury-plagued 2007 season, Bailey recorded 84 tackles, along with three interceptions. He was named to another Pro Bowl and received second-team All-Pro honors in 2007. He was also named to the 2009 Pro Bowl after finishing the season with 3 interceptions.

Trivia

He is the older brother of linebacker Boss Bailey who joined Champ on the Broncos for one season in 2008 after playing the first 5 years of his career on the Detroit Lions.

References

External links

• NFLPlayers.com Profile
• NFL.com Profile
• CNNSI.com draft Video
• Champ Bailey news