Bailey hopes 2017 was bridge to more success
Receiver was starting to break out when he injured his neck on spectacular catch
Rare is the occasion when a receiver has cause to lament a picturesque touchdown catch.
One exception is the case of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Devon Bailey, whose final reception of the 2017 CFL season was a spectacular six-pointer.
On Sept. 24, Bailey suffered a season-ending neck injury after making a leaping grab of a Brandon Bridge pass for a 14-yard major against the Calgary Stampeders, who ended up winning 15-9 at Mosaic Stadium.
“(The injury) was really unfortunate because, at that point, he was taking off and realizing some of the potential that he has,” Roughriders head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations Chris Jones said after Tuesday’s practice.
Bailey had been on a mini roll, having scored his first touchdown as a Roughrider in the team’s previous game — a 27-19 victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-cats on Sept. 19.
He followed up with a threecatch, 68-yard outing versus Calgary.
Fast-forward to 2018, when Bailey is looking to build on the progress he made last season.
“You’re actually the first person to look at it that way — and that’s exactly how it is,” he said. “I plan on picking up exactly where I left off.
“The injury was unfortunate. I just wanted to show that, even through injuries, I want to make the points count. I’m just ready to pick up right from there.”
The opportunity is certainly there following the recent release of veteran Canadian wide receiver Rob Bagg.
Bagg ’s exit should create more playing time for Bailey and fellow national pass-catcher Joshua Stanford.
“I think (Bailey) is a guy who certainly can start in this league,” Jones said.
“He’s a tough, physical guy. He’s a great teammate. So that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Jones was the Edmonton Eskimos’ first-year head coach when Bailey was selected sixth overall in the 2014 CFL draft out of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.
Bailey caught 39 passes for 469 yards and two touchdowns over three seasons with Edmonton before signing with the Montreal Alouettes as a free agent in April 2017.
However, he was released by Montreal after the 2017 pre-season. The Roughriders claimed him last August.
“We drafted him in Edmonton, so I’ve known him for quite some time,” Jones said.
“He’s a wonderful young man. He’s a very hard worker.
“He’s really quiet. You never hardly know he’s on the field, but he has become more consistent.
“He had the best catch percentage of all of our receivers, regardless of nationality, during training camp. I think it was somewhere around 78 to 80 per cent that he caught. That’s what we’re looking for — consistency.”
Bailey aspires to “put up big numbers, catch the football and be a great receiver in this league,” while underlining his point as follows:
“Not just the best Canadian or the best special-teamer, but I want to be one of the best players to play this game.”
The 26-year-old Bailey didn’t even start playing football until he was in his late teens. Before that, his primary sport was soccer.
As a six-foot-five goalkeeper, his size and hands came in, well, handy.
Bailey eventually turned his attention from one form of football to another. In his late teens, he began playing the three-down version at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont.
Around that time, he was introduced to Bridge, who was starring at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga. Bridge pulled the trigger on both of Bailey’s touchdown receptions last season.
“He went to the rival high school and we played together in summer league, so that’s why he knows how to throw me that fade,” Bailey said.
“That’s just because he has had me the longest. It’s not fair.”
In addition to maintaining a connection with Bridge, Bailey still has ties to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
“I still keep in great touch with my old high school,” he said.
“We’re going back and forth. I’ve already told them what I want to do after (pro football), whether it’s as a principal or if I go back and teach there — anything to go back home and give back what was given to me.”
I think (Bailey) is a guy who certainly can start in this league. He’s a tough, physical guy. He’s a great teammate. So that’s what we’re hoping for.