Photo: Neil Noonan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Veteran CFL receiver Rasheed Bailey has officially announced his retirement from professional football.
The 32-year-old made the decision public with an emotional address on his podcast, ShowTimeSpeaks The Keep Going Podcast, showing off his game-worn Grey Cup jersey, as well as one from his senior year of college.
“This is my retirement speech,” Bailey told listeners. “It’s hard because this game saved my life, and there’s been so many people on this journey that has helped me get to this point, but I got myself to this point too, and I worked my ass off every day. I was a kid who grew up in the projects. I was a kid who beat and defeated the odds of I’m supposed to be this. And I always had this dream as a kid that I was going to be somebody. I used to stare out that walk, that window, growing up in the projects, knowing that I was going to be something. I was staring at that skyline, and I knew that one day that I would probably potentially be sitting in the space that I’m in right now and giving this speech one day, walking away from the game.”
Bailey did not play during the 2025 CFL season after going unsigned in free agency. He played the first six games of the 2024 campaign with the Toronto Argonauts, catching 24 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns. He later signed with the Ottawa Redblacks, but finished the year on the practice roster without appearing in a game.
The native of Philadelphia, Penn., spent the first four years of his CFL career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, winning Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021. He caught a total of 180 passes for 2,072 yards and 20 touchdowns over 54 regular-season games with the team.
Bailey first signed with the B.C. Lions in 2015, but was quickly released due to NFL opportunities. He spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent, but never saw game action.
The six-foot-two, 212-pound target attended Delaware Valley University, a Division III program in Doylestown, Penn. He graduated as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,138, while ranking second in receiving touchdowns with 29 and third in receptions with 165.