Patriots release punter Jake Bailey
FOXBORO -- Less than a year after making him one of the highest-paid punters in the NFL, the New England Patriots have released Jake Bailey.
The Patriots drafted Bailey in the fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he made the Pro Bowl and earned First Team All-Pro Honors in 2020 after leading the NFL in net yards per punt. Last August, New England rewarded him with a four-year, $13.5 million extension.
He had a solid season in 2021, but struggled mightily in 2022. Bailey posted just a net average of 35.3 yards per punt through the first nine games of last season -- the worst in the NFL. He missed the final eight games with a back injury, and was suspended for undisclosed reasons ahead of the final game of the season.
Bailey's camp claimed the suspension was over a disagreement regarding when the punter could return from IR, and Bailey later filed a grievance against the Patriots. The suspension voided the majority of the guaranteed money that Bailey was set to earn over the life of his extension.
On Friday, the Patriots decided to move on from a player they once coveted.
My new Patriots salary cap space number after accounting for the Jake Bailey release is $30,903,852 - a $65,000 decrease from my last update.
— Miguel Benzan Patriots Cap Space Equals 30,903,852 (@patscap) March 10, 2023
Jake Bailey's cap number was $3.175M
His dead money = $2.37M
Salary of player replacing him on Top 51 = 870K
$2.37M +870K = $3.24M
Replacement punter Michael Palardy wasn't all that impressive over his eight games in 2022, averaging a net of just 37.1 yards per punt for New England. So, following Friday's somewhat surprising roster move, you can now add punter to Bill Belichick's to-do list this offseason.