For the first time in nearly two decades, Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey will return to FedEx Field as a guest of Washington’s NFL team. The Commanders will honor Bailey during Sunday’s season opener against Arizona as the Legend of the Game, and he’ll serve as an honorary captain.
In a phone interview with The Washington Post, Bailey emphasized how important it is to him that everyone knows he never wanted to leave Washington.
“That’s what gets lost sometimes,” he said. “Clinton Portis was a great football player. [Washington] lost me, they gained him, so it wasn’t like it was a complete loss.
“But I want people to understand, from my point of view, I never wanted to leave. Like, that was not my intentions. I valued this franchise,” Bailey added. “And when I got to Denver, it was very evident that Washington was more established [and] had more history than Denver could ever dream of. But Denver took me in and treated me like their own, and I’m grateful for that. It was a blessing in disguise that I got sent there. But it wasn’t like I made it happen that way. I was too young to even know what was going on. I was just a great football player trying to do great things and make the money I deserve. That’s it.”
In 2020, when the Commanders hired team president Jason Wright and director of alumni relations Tim Hightower, one goal was to prioritize rebuilding relationships with alumni. Last season, for the franchise’s 90th anniversary, they gathered about 130 former players, cheerleaders and others to parade around the stadium for “alumni homecoming weekend.”
But some alums who were critical of Snyder, including Bailey, stayed home. The new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, has doubled down on the re-engagement mission. On Sunday, some alums will return for the first time, including running back John Riggins and quarterback Robert Griffin III. Limited partner Mitchell Rales sent his private jet to Florida to pick up Sonny Jurgensen, Billy Kilmer, Jim Hart and their spouses. (Jurgensen can’t fly commercial because of his health.)
In 1999, as a rookie, Bailey burst into the NFL with five interceptions, 16 passes defensed and a touchdown. He shined even on a defense with another future first-ballot Hall of Fame corner in Darrell Green and became a perennial Pro Bowler. After the 2003 season, Bailey’s contract expired, and Washington used the franchise tag on him. Bailey threatened to hold out, so the team granted him permission to seek a trade.
In March 2004, Washington and Denver made a blockbuster deal for two superstars in the prime of their careers (and a second-round pick, which Denver used on Tatum Bell).
Bailey said he never had a relationship with Snyder. In 2019, before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Bailey said he got a phone call, and the person on the other end said, “Hold for Daniel Snyder.” Bailey said he had a short, impersonal conversation with the owner.
“Even before I got traded, I’d never talk to him about anything of substance other than my contract when he was trying to get me to take lowball deals,” he said. “I don’t expect him to like me or cater to me. It’s just, you know, we’re men, and we’re in a profession where there’s levels of success, and I think I was one of the most successful people he had with him. He just never valued it, and it showed by his actions.
“I’m grown now. I’m past it.”
Bailey praised Wright and Hightower for prioritizing the players who felt alienated by Snyder.
“I never had hard feelings about the organization,” Bailey said. “It was just more about how everything was handled, and I think everybody knows why it was handled that way.
“But as we move forward, I would love to be a part of the organization. They’ve been patient. They’ve offered several ways to come back. The timing just never felt right. Now, with new ownership it just feels like things are being revived here, a little rejuvenated. I just want to be a part of that. And I think the timing is good.”
When asked why he didn’t want to leave Washington and what made it so important to him, Bailey cited the city’s rich strong ties to the Black community, as well as the team’s history as a member of the vaunted NFC East.
“Look, I appreciated the rich Black culture here. You forget how many of my people are here until you’re in it. Like, everywhere I go, I see my people — and I always loved and appreciated that about this city. And the franchise, again, has so much history. And you look at the NFC East and how popular these teams are. And I don’t know, I just wanted to be a part of what Darrell Green started and to kind of continue that legacy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do that here. But I did it somewhere else.”
Bailey last played at FedEx in 2009 as a member of the Broncos. Washington won, 27-17, behind a big day for running back Ladell Betts (26 carries, 114 yards, one touchdown).
On Saturday morning, Bailey said he wasn’t sure how he’d feel when he stepped back onto the field in front of the Washington fans.
“I don’t know,” he said, laughing. “I don’t know! I mean, I’m at the hotel now, and everybody I run into is excited. I’m like, ‘Damn, you’re not even old enough to remember I played here!’ It’s just certain feedback I’m getting from everybody. It seems like they’re happy I’m part of the fold again.”
As for who he was looking forward to seeing, Bailey said, “Everybody, to be honest.” He ran into Jurgensen at the hotel, and he said Jurgensen asked, “Who the hell are you?” and when Bailey told him, he broke into a smile and said, “Great to see you!”
“I honestly don’t know who I’m going to see,” Bailey said. “That’s the beauty of it. There’s a lot of people to remember and a lot of connections I made back in the day — and, you know, I’m just trying to rekindle a lot of those connections.”
He hopes the reunion — with a place he never wanted to leave in the first place — will be a beautiful new beginning.
“This takes me to the death, right?” he said. “Like, this relationship isn’t broken 'til the day I die. That’s how I want it to be.”
