At the beginning of free agency I would not have expected this, but after rumors circulated that Bailey stuck around town after his visit with the Saints this seemed like a likely end result. As confirmed by Sean Fazende in his tweet below, you have to give love to the local media when they break this stuff because they are almost always owned by the national media in the Sean Payton era:
Breaking: Champ Bailey is signing with the #saints today, source tells me
— Sean Fazende (@SeanFazende) April 4, 2014
Pencil Champ Bailey in as the starting cornerback opposite Keenan Lewis for the time being, but Patrick Robinson and Corey White will have something to say about that. Champ can also play safety, and would be nice depth at free behind Jairus Byrd. In my estimation this has no impact on whether or not the Saints would match the Falcons’ offer sheet for Rafael Bush. The contract is for two years.
Bailey just concluded his 10th (!) year with the Denver Broncos after spending 5 years with the Redskins. He’ll be 36 in June and this is his 16th season. He only played in 5 games last season with no interceptions, but does have 52 picks in his career. In limited action last year he was poor, but he had a strong 2012 campaign the year before which earned him a trip to his 12th Pro Bowl. In 14 seasons prior to last year he’s only missed 11 games, so if he can rebound from last season he’s shown to be quite durable and good with age.
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