Dolphins sign punter Jake Bailey, who was suspended by Patriots; Thomas Morstead joins Jets
The Dolphins have a new punter, signing Jake Bailey, formerly of the New England Patriots, to replace Thomas Morstead, who joined the Jets on Friday.
Some of the circumstances surrounding how Bailey landed in Miami remain unclear.
Bailey, 25, was New England's fifth-round pick in 2019 out of Stanford and was the All-Pro punter in 2020 with a league-high 45.6 net average and 48.7 average per punt. Last August, he signed a four-year, $13.5 million extension with the Patriots that made him one of the NFL's top-paid punters.
Things quickly turned sour, leading to his release.
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Bailey's numbers had dropped to 35.1 net and 42.1 gross in nine games last season because of a back injury that landed him on injured reserve. (By comparison, Morstead's averages were 40.6 net and 46.4 gross.)
Although it's unclear why, Bailey was later suspended by the Patriots. He filed a grievance to receive $2.12 million due in guaranteed money in 2023. Guaranteed money can be voided by suspension.
At the time of the suspension, Bailey's agent, Doug Hendrickson, issued a statement saying, "While Jake Bailey was on IR he never missed a single treatment, meeting or practice. He was hoping to come off IR to play last weekend, but Jake was informed he was being suspended these last two games. This comes as a surprise given his full participation during injury reserve. We have filed a grievance to fight this unknown suspension."
Bailey averaged 56.4 percent inside the 20 two seasons ago but 32.4 percent last season. And in 2021, he had a league-high three blocked punts.
Bailey also handled kickoffs for the Patriots, averaging a career-best 60.9 percent of touchbacks last season. Jason Sanders averaged 69.3 percent on touchbacks in 2022.
The Dolphins have changed punters every season since Matt Haack left the Dolphins after the 2020 season.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins sign punter Jake Bailey after unusual parting with Patriots
