Champ Bailey's Contract Situation

News filtered out of Denver yesterday that Champ Bailey's contract talks with the Denver Broncos have hit another another snag with the negotiations and it looks like Bailey might be on his way out of town as a free agent. Does any good news ever come out of Denver in the last two and half years? Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and now Champ Bailey all have had their share of contract talks, negotiations, and trade rumors. Cutler was traded, followed by Marshall, and now Bailey will join them on their way out of Denver. Cutler pouted and bitched like a crybaby in his situation, Marshall has so many off the field issues and was a cancer in the locker room, so it was understandable why both eventually skipped town, but Champ is different. He has said all the right things, done all the right things, been a great person for the team on the field and in the locker room. Why not bring him back? Why let another top notch player go? Sometimes you just have to suck it up and pay a guy money that you didn't want to. I'm sure the Ravens didn't want to pay Ray Lewis all that money a few years ago when he became a free agent, but they knew what kind of player Lewis was and what type of presence he had in the locker room. The Ravens sucked it and paid him. Bailey is in the same category as Lewis in my opinion. The Broncos should do the same for him as well. Keeping Champ a Bronco can't really be a bad thing. He is coming off one of his best seasons as a Bronco, he is still a Pro Bowl level player, and he is a good team and locker room guy. I know Denver might not want to spend all that money on a 32 year old cornerback, but it is the right thing to do. Many people think that at this point and for this amount of money, Denver should allow Bailey to leave. I understand that point of view, but do you have any confidence in John Elway or Brian Xanders being able to replace Bailey on this defense right now. Maybe down the line this front office will be capable of doing that but I don't have the confidence in them right now to let Bailey go, and sign/acquire big time players on that defensive line or in the secondary.



In the end, Bailey will probably leave Denver, and the Broncos won't even franchise tag him. Bailey will go to a team that is close to winning a Super Bowl (Jets, Ravens, maybe Falcons), and the Broncos will state that they will replace him in the secondary and use that money to rebuild their defense for the long haul. It is a shame, but Champ Bailey will be gone and the Bronco fans will lose another one of their favorite and best players. I'll ask the question again: Does any good news come out of Dove Valley anymore?