David Bailey is built differently
David Bailey has been disruptive on the field, but the rookie edge rusher is making a strong impression with his off-the-field actions.
Veteran defensive tackle Harrison Phillips noted that many rookies and young players might use their breaks to scroll social media on their phones. Bailey spends his time during breaks on his iPad watching film.
“I might walk past another rookie or another young player and in that 15-minute window, they’re seeing what Instagram's got going on and TikTok's got going on,” Phillips said.
Most recently, Phillips saw Bailey had the Titans’ offense – the Jets’ Week 1 opponent - on his iPad. Previously, Phillips said Bailey was looking at his rushes from the joint practice against Tampa or studyinh other edge rushers.
Phillips brought up another time when the Jets gave players ice cream after a hard practice in the heat. Bailey passed.
“He's like, ‘Oh no, I want to make sure my body composition stays good,’” Phillips said.
Bailey is just built differently. He’s all about football, Phillips said.
“In this world, it's very impressive to find a rookie who has the world as his oyster and a deep bank account and he still really wants to become a really good addition to this team,” Phillips said. “I think a lot of the motivation for him isn't like, ‘I want to be Defensive Player of the Year. I want 50 sacks.’ It's like, ‘I wan to win football games.’ And that's really good.”
Aaron Glenn said Bailey’s “professionalism” already stands out. The Jets coach also enjoys seeing how much time Bailey is spending with the veterans picking their brains and asking them how they’ve stayed in the game as long as they have.
“You don't get that a lot from a young player,” Glenn said. “But he is a very wise man, and I'm glad we have him because he's the type of player he’s going to be in this league for a long time the way he operates.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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