Champ Bailey, longtime Broncos All Pro DB, signs 2 year deal with Saints (per CBS Sports)

By +John Breech | +CBSSports.com
April 4, 2014 4:20 pm ET

Champ Bailey is headed to New Orleans. (USATSI)

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It looks like Champ Bailey still has some gas left in the tank. The 35-year-old cornerback, who was cut by the Broncos in March, has agreed to terms on a two-year deal the Saints.

"We are excited to be able to add a future Hall of Fame player with the addition of Champ Bailey," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. "His career accomplishments mirror that of his high character and he's a very prideful and competitive player who we believe will add to our defense. Having spent time with him recently and in our discussions with him, I know that he's thrilled to be joining the +New Orleans Saints and starting a new chapter in his professional life."

Although Bailey missed most of 2013 after suffering a preseason foot injury, the 15-year veteran told +The Denver Post he expects to compete for a starting cornerback job in New Orleans, "That's where we're starting. That's all I wanted," Bailey said.

Bailey will make the jump from a +Denver Broncos defense that ranked 19th in the NFL last season to a Saints defense that ranked fourth overall, including second against the pass.

Champ Bailey Visits the Saints - +NFL

The 12-time Pro Bowler only played in five games last season, marking only the second time in Bailey's 15-year career that he's played in less than 10 games. The 35-year-old has been amazingly durable for a cornerback: Since 1999, Bailey has started in 13 or more games in 13 of his 15 +NFL seasons.

Bailey's 12 Pro Bowl selections are the most in NFL history for any defensive back and the second most for any defensive player, trailing only Reggie White's 13 appearances.

New Orleans will be the third team that Bailey has played for since entering the league with the Redskins after being the seventh overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. After five seasons in Washington, Bailey was traded to the Broncos where he spent 10 seasons, before being cut last month.

H/T to CBSSports.com - Original link here

Champ Bailey, Broncos Legend, now free Agent, Visits the New Orleans Saints

H/T to +NFL
By Chris Wesseling
Around the League Writer

A 12-time Pro Bowl selection finally is making his first visit of free agency.

Former +Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey is meeting with the +New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, per +NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.

Champ Bailey visited the #Saints facility today… and we can thank Keenan Lewis for the Instagram shot pic.twitter.com/is5NAUQvsa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 1, 2014

He plans to visit at least one more team, according to ESPN's +Adam Schefter, unless contract talks go well with the Saints.

Bailey, 36 in June, is coming off the worst season of his career. He battled a chronic foot injury from August until Super Bowl XLVIII, when Doug Baldwin beat him down the sideline for a 37-yard gain.

Assuming he's now back to full health, Bailey makes sense for a Saints team with questionable cornerback depth behind Keenan Lewis.

Done in Denver, Champ Bailey has no plans to Retire

Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

March 6, 2014

(Photo: Chris Humphreys, USA TODAY Sports)

The Denver Broncos released veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, the team's longest tenured player, rather than pay him a $9 million salary in 2014.

Bailey, 35, will become a free agent for the first time in his career.

"I'm good. It's bittersweet. Now I get to go see what is out there," Bailey told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "I'm looking at the positive side of it."

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Bailey said the Broncos did not offer him a pay cut. He was set to earn a $1 million bonus if he was on the roster March 15.

Bailey met with executive vice president John Elway and coach John Fox to be informed of his pending release, which became official Thursday. By cutting Bailey, who had the team's second-highest salary in 2013 behind only quarterback Peyton Manning, the Broncos will save $10 million toward the salary cap.

"It sucks, but at the same time, I have to move on. I can't dwell on it. I know they're not dwelling on it," Bailey said.

The team thanked him after making the announcement.

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"This was a difficult decision for our team with everything that Champ Bailey has meant to the Denver Broncos and this community over the last 10 years," Elway said in a statement.

"Without question, he's among the best cornerbacks to ever play the game and one of the finest players in the history of the Broncos. You couldn't ask for more in a player than what Champ brought to this team. His combination of elite talent, class, leadership and competitiveness made him one of the all-time greats.

"On behalf of everyone with the Broncos, I wish Champ all the best and thank him for everything he did for this franchise. Champ will always be a Bronco. We look forward to his Ring of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame election in the years ahead."

Bailey arrived in Denver in 2004 in a blockbuster player-for-player trade with the Washington Redskins for running back Clinton Portis. He re-signed with the Broncos in 2011 before he could hit free agency.

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Bailey leaves Denver with 52 career interceptions (34 as a Bronco) and 12 Pro Bowl selections (eight with the Broncos). He was a first-round pick by Washington in 1999.

Bailey is coming off the most difficult year of his 16-year career, starting only three games in the regular season because of a nagging foot injury. He returned to the starting lineup for the AFC Championship Game and played in his first Super Bowl in the Broncos' loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Bailey said he does not plan to retire and is looking forward to being a free agent for the first time in his career. He said he would like to continue playing cornerback but would consider a position change to safety.

"I just want to see what people will want me to do. My vision is to still play corner, but I'm a little more open-minded about the season I had last year." Bailey said. "I'm a corner at heart. If a situation made sense to play safety, then I would consider it."

Expect the Broncos to focus their free agent attention on the secondary, with starting right cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie set to become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday. Denver's other starter, Chris Harris, is a restricted free agent and is waiting for a tender offer the team that will determine his 2014 salary — and how attractive he might be to other teams looking for a starter.

Harris had surgery in early February to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in Denver's divisional playoff game against the San Diego Chargers.

Follow national NFL reporter Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.