Most NFL fans will best remember Champ Bailey for his exploits with the Denver Broncos, but he started his career and made his name as a member of the Washington Redskins.
Bailey will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday after being elected on Feb. 2. That would have given the team that drafted him plenty of time to reach out and congratulate him and offer to honor him if they wanted to. According to Bailey, that didn’t happen with Washington, who didn’t even contact him about his impending induction until three days ago.
Bailey, talking at the Hall of Fame media availability, was asked by @woodypaige if he ever considered going in as a Washington player. That's when Bailey said: “I mean, no. It was never on the table. Nobody from Washington had called me until three days ago. Nobody.”
Crazy.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 2, 2019
Bailey’s Washington tenure did end with him seeking a trade after threatening to skip training camp over being hit with the franchise tag, so it wasn’t exactly an amicable parting of ways. Then again, the Redskins don’t have a great organizational reputation, so it’s entirely possible that this was just Washington being Washington. One would think they’d want to promote a Hall of Fame player who got his start playing for them, but perhaps not.
