Allen Bailey remains unsigned despite several free agent visits

Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Allen Bailey remains available for any team to sign despite more interest than most free agents this spring.

Allen Bailey is a bit of an anomaly on the free agent market this offseason, a player who has taken several free agent visits but has yet to sign on the dotted line. Both scenarios combined create a weird place to stand in the marketplace, which opens up some questions as to what exactly is unfolding for the former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman.

Most coveted free agents will take one or two visits—three at most—before finding a place to land. On the other hand, many veterans who are on the downside of their careers will end up waiting well into the summer (e.g. right now) before hopefully signing with a team—if at all. But here, Bailey is breaking both rules as a player who has taken a handful of free agent visits over the course of the last few months yet still finds himself waiting like a player with little to offer a team in 2019.

Even well before the NFL Draft, Bailey was generating serious interest from some of the league’s most competitive teams. The Chiefs themselves were rumored to want Bailey back, but they were going to be competing with a few other franchises—most notably the New England Patriots, who had expressed interest in early spring.

Bailey continued to spend time with a few other teams, taking visits with the Carolina Panthers, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Atlanta Falcons.

All told, there have been five teams, K.C. included, to have reported interest in the 30-year-old lineman and for good reason. Bailey has made 26 starts over the last two seasons and played in all 16 games last year for the Chiefs, in which he set career highs with 6 sacks and 4 fumble recoveries. He also matched a career high with 2 forced fumbles. He had a total of 38 tackles and 10 quarterback hits.

It will be interesting to see where Bailey lands. At this point, the Chiefs have added so many new faces into Steve Spagnuolo’s new defensive front that it makes little sense to add Bailey to the mix. The competition already includes newcomers like Frank Clark, Alex Okafor, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Khalen Saunders to go with holdovers like Xavier Williams, Derrick Nnadi, Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon.

Bailey has earned over $27 million in his eight-year NFL career, all with the Chiefs.