Releasing Champ Bailey sends a clear message
“It takes a cold heart to be an effective Vice President of Football Operations / General Manager for an NFL team.”
Read More …
It’s not about sentimentality. It’s not about what fans think or how his moves might be perceived. For John Elway it’s only about winning by any means necessary. He proved that when he lured Peyton Manning and he proved that when he released Champ Bailey.
Champ will always be a Bronco. His number 24 will appear on the backs of fans’ jerseys from now until forever more. He has been the superstar of the Denver defense for nearly a decade – but it is his time to go.
Bailey is not and will never be the player he once was. He certainly did not command his high salary and even if his contract were radically restructured Denver would have been throwing good money at a player who is virtually guaranteed to miss significant playing time due to injury each season.
Bailey has apparently told the national media that he is willing to move to safety. That’s not the message he was sending the Broncos even a few months ago. Here he virtually insisted on remaining a cornerback. As sad as it is to say, he simply was no longer effective enough at the position.
The Broncos must get speedier and younger in the secondary. Champ Bailey is not a part of that puzzle. And, as valuable as his leadership has been for the team, it’s understood that the Broncos have a very small window in which to win before Peyton Manning retires and they go right back to the drawing board on offense.
Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno will soon face the same cold reality that Bailey has. The Broncos are being run by tacticians – not by fans. It takes a cold heart to be an effective Vice President of Football Operations / General Manager for an NFL team. Ruthless decisions must be made.
Releasing Champ Bailey sends a message. It tells every player fortunate enough to remain on Denver’s squad that everyone is expendable. Perform, earn your paycheck or go home – or go to Atlanta – or go to Oakland. No player is going to remain a Denver Bronco simply because of the name on the back of the jersey – not even he’s the Champ.
It’s sad to see Champ Bailey leave. We will all miss him. But the fact of the matter is he has been missing for a while now. This just makes it official.
