Zack Bailey (born November 8, 1995) is an American football

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at South Carolina and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in . He later had stints with the Minnesota Vikings,

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, and Washington Football Team / Commanders.

Early life and education

Bailey was born on November 8, 1995, and grew up in

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Su ...

. He attended

Summerville High School Summerville High School is a public high school in Summerville, South Carolina. History Until the 1960s, a brick building on Main Street, which is now Rollings Middle School of the Arts, was the only high school in the Summerville area. As Sum ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for coach

John McKissick John McKissick (September 25, 1926 – November 28, 2019) was a head football coach of Summerville High School in Summerville, South Carolina. In 2012, he became the first American football coach in history (high school, college, or professional) ...

, the all-time most winningest coach at any level. He played

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...

and helped them reach the second round of the playoffs as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, being a finalist for the state "Mr. Football" award. Rivals.com ranked him a four-star prospect and the second-best player in the state, as well as the fifth-best offensive guard nationally. He had numerous scholarship offers after graduating in 2015, and decided to enroll at South Carolina. As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2015, Bailey appeared in 12 games and started five, two of those at left guard and the remaining three as a center. The following year, he was South Carolina's "most consistent and highest performing offensive lineman," starting every game at left guard, several as a team captain, and being named the co-winner of the Offensive Tenacity Award (with Hayden Hurst). He changed his position from interior lineman to

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

as a junior in 2017. In 2017, Bailey appeared in nine games, all but one as a starter, missing four after an injury in the third match of the season (against Kentucky). He was selected to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Fall Academic Honor Roll and was named by the league's coaches a third-team all-conference player. After contemplating whether to enter the NFL Draft or return for a senior season, Bailey opted to return to the team in 2018 so he could get a degree, becoming the first member of his family to do so. As a senior, Bailey returned to his former position of left guard and was named team captain, starting 12 games and being named second-team all-conference by the league's coaches and Associated Press (AP). He was given the Offensive Tenacity Award and was selected to the East–West Shrine All-Star game. In the regular season finale, he suffered a broken right fibula, and as a result missed the

Belk Bowl The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) ...

. Bailey graduated in December 2018 with a degree in criminal justice, finishing his college career with 46 games played and 38 starts.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bailey was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but was only able to participate in three events due to his injury. He went unselected in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, but afterwards was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the only undrafted rookie to make the final roster, but suffered an injury shortly afterwards and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. At the final roster cuts in , Bailey was released, but afterwards re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released from the practice squad on November 3.

Minnesota Vikings

While a free agent, Bailey received tryouts from the Baltimore Ravens,

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, and Minnesota Vikings. He was signed to the Vikings' practice squad on December 8. Bailey was signed to a futures contract in January 2021. He was waived at the final roster cuts in , but was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad. He was released from the Vikings' practice squad on October 13, 2021.

Indianapolis Colts

Two days after being released by the Vikings, Bailey was signed to the practice squad of the

. He was then released on October 26. He received a tryout from the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

after being released by the Colts.

Washington Football Team

On November 2, 2021, Bailey was signed by the Washington Football Team to the practice squad. He was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on December 23, and activated one week later. Bailey received a reserve/future contract in January 2022. He was released by Washington on May 16, 2022.

Los Angeles Chargers

On May 17, 2022, Bailey was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Chargers. He was waived at the final roster cuts in August, but was afterwards brought back on the practice squad. He received an elevation to the active roster for the Chargers' Week 13 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and made his NFL debut in the loss, appearing on four special teams snaps. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 17, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Bailey was waived by the Chargers and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 23. He was placed on injured reserve on December 9.

Atlanta Falcons

On July 24, 2024, Bailey was signed by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Zack 1995 births Living people American football offensive guards American football centers American football offensive tackles Sportspeople from Summerville, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina South Carolina Gamecocks football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Minnesota Vikings players Indianapolis Colts players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players Los Angeles Chargers players Atlanta Falcons players