Part of a punter carousel that saw two intra-AFC East changes last year, Jake Bailey will be set for a more stable offseason in 2024. The Dolphins are re-signing the five-year veteran.
The Dolphins will give Bailey a two-year, $4.2MM accord to stick around as their punter, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. Bailey spent the previous four seasons with the Patriots. He replaced Thomas Morstead with the Dolphins.
Bailey bounced back following a down 2022, averaging 45.7 yards per punt — after he posted just 42.1 yards per boot during an injury-plagued Pats finale — during his South Florida debut. The Patriots had extended Bailey in 2022, but the team cut bait following the season.
A 2020 first-team All-Pro after averaging 48.7 yards per punt as a Patriot, Bailey saw an injury and a team-imposed suspension lead him out of Foxborough. Issues between the Pats and Bailey regarding rehab from his 2022 injury led to the suspension. This preceded the team bailing on the four-year, $13.5MM extension it authorized during the 2022 offseason. The Patriots had drafted Bailey in the 2019 fifth round.
Morstead, who soon signed with the Jets, had been the Dolphins’ punter for just one season. They want Bailey, 26, to stick around for longer. Though, with this being a punter contract, little security should be expected.