Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey takes a breather before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey takes a breather before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey has died. The NFL veteran, who finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2021, was 37.
Bailey spent eight years with the Chiefs after being drafted out of the University of Miami in 2011. His wife found him dead Tuesday in their Florida home, according to TMZ. He appears to have died from natural causes.
The 6-foot 3-inch Georgia native tipped the scale at 288 lbs. during his playing days, according to NFL.com. He suited up for more than 130 games and recorded 22 sacks.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey scores a touchdown after recovering a fumble by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (not shown) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey scores a touchdown after recovering a fumble by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (not shown) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Bailey’s former teammates mourned his death on Wednesday.
“Lost a teammate, a friend, a brother. God needed another angel. Rest easy, my brother,” Jeff Allen posted on social media.
Allen Bailey of the Kansas City Chiefs is pictured Monday, June 20, 2016. (AP Photo)
Allen Bailey of the Kansas City Chiefs is pictured Monday, June 20, 2016. (AP Photo)
Bailey’s college teammate Colin McCarthy also said goodbye to a “brother” online.
“Love you Big Cuzzo!” the former linebacker wrote.
A video posted to the Chiefs website describes Bailey’s hometown of Sapelo Island as a place with no police force, school system or grocery store where he learned to hunt and fish.
“I’m very proud of him,” his mother Mary Bailey says in that clip. “I would never believe that someone from this little small island would make it that far. And he made it.”
Citing research from the British Medical Journal, Harvard Medical School reported in 2022 that NFL linemen like Bailey were more likely to develop diseases “typically associated with advanced age when significantly younger.”