After 15 seasons, Champ Bailey will officially retire. (USATSI)
Champ Bailey played 10 seasons in Denver, and next Tuesday he will sign a one-day contract with the team to officially mark his retirement from the NFL.
Originally a first-round pick by the Redskins in 1999, Bailey spent five seasons in Washington before coach Joe Gibbs shipped him and a second-round pick to Denver for running back Clinton Portis.
Portis arrived in Washington after back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons with the Broncos, and Bailey made his way west as one of the league's best cover cornerbacks. It was one of the few times big-name players in their primes were traded for one another.
"What was shocking to me was that the trade was going to be for him and we were going to get traded, because I'd never seen anything like that," Bailey told the Broncos website in October 2013. "I'd seen people get traded for draft picks and stuff, but usually players -- Pro-Bowl players, at least -- don't get traded like that."
Here's how Portis remembered it.
"Knowing Champ and being a big fan of Champ since his (college) days, I'm thinking like, 'Man, I'm getting traded for Champ Bailey?'" Portis said at the time. "This is going on my third year in the league and at that time Champ had already established himself in the NFL as one of the best. So to me it was just an honor to be in a trade with Champ Bailey. And then they also got a pick for me, so I felt like I was hot stuff."
Portis officially retired from the NFL in August 2012, and last played in the league in 2010. Bailey, meanwhile, appeared in his first and only Super Bowl in February, when the Broncos lost to the Seahawks. In the days leading up to that game the cornerback said, "Leaving the Redskins was the best thing to happen to my career. ... I wouldn't be here."
NFL Hot News
Jaguars rookie WR Allen Robinson (foot) done for the year
The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost their top receiver to a broken foot. Rookie Allen Robinson suffered the injury in Sunday's loss to Dallas in London. Robinson had emerged as QB Blake Bortles' favorite target and most reliable receiver. Robinson has 48 receptions, 548 yards and a pair of touchdowns.With the loss of Robinson, the Jaguars will likely insert fellow rookie Marqise Lee into the lineup.
What shaky value Bortles has as a fantasy quarterback just took a hit. He and Robinson have developed a good amount of chemistry this season. With his loss, WR Cecil Shorts figures to see a spike in his fantasy value, as Lee and the third rookie in the Jags' passing offense, Allen Hurns, are still too inconsistent to count on regularly. Hurns is also dealing with a concussion.This writer has been an advocate of Robinson this season, and he's gotten better as the season has gone on. He should enter the 2015 season as the Jags' top receiver. He's a potential breakout candidate to keep an eye on next season.
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