Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey has died at 37 after his wife found him at their Florida home, with family believing natural causes claimed the standout lineman.
Bailey’s wife discovered his body inside the couple’s Florida home, his brother Alford Bailey Jr. said. Family members believe he died of natural causes, though no official cause of death has been released.
Breitbart News reported the death of the former NFL defensive end, who spent most of his career in Kansas City before a short stint in Atlanta. He was 37.
The news hit teammates and coaches hard. Sudden losses of young athletes keep landing with the same jolt, much like when former NFL punter Kasey Redfern died at 35 after a long illness.
Bailey played 133 NFL games and finished with 22 sacks and 248 tackles. The Chiefs drafted him in the third round in 2011. He stayed eight seasons before joining the Atlanta Falcons in 2019.
In Kansas City he became a reliable piece on the defensive line. He appeared in 31 games over two years with the Falcons before the team released him in 2021.
Fox News reported that Bailey died Tuesday and carried the team’s public response. The Chiefs posted a statement calling him an excellent teammate and a generous man.
The team wrote:
"Allen Bailey was an excellent teammate, generous man, and kind soul. We're deeply saddened to hear of his passing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."
Coach Andy Reid spoke the next day and did not hide the blow.
Reid told reporters:
"Sad news, the passing of Allen Bailey. Our hearts go out to his family, prayers are with them. Way too young, obviously, one of my favorite players. Great kid, just sorry to see that happen to him."
Young lives cut short leave the same empty space whether the person wore a helmet or a turnout coat, a point driven home when a Utah firefighter died in a 700-foot fall after a wingsuit failed.
Bailey grew up on Sapelo, an island off the Georgia coast. He did not play football until high school, then drew heavy recruiting interest and chose the University of Miami over several top programs.
At Miami he stood out for freakish athletic ability. That path from late start to NFL draft pick is the kind of climb fans remember when a player is gone too soon, the same ache felt when Columbine freshman football player Noah Vesich died at 16.
Former teammates voiced the loss in plain terms. The New York Post reported public grief from players who shared locker rooms with him.
Ex-Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe wrote:
"I'm 💔 please pray 🙏🏾 For His Family @ar_bailey97 one of the Best teammate I’ve had a chance to be around. Thx 4 Errthang 🕊️"
Linebacker Colin McCarthy added his own note:
"Lost a fellow brother today... prayers to AB family! Love you Big Cuzzo!"
Those messages match what coaches and the club already said. Bailey left the league after the 2021 release and had been living in Florida with his wife when she found him.
Authorities have not issued a formal cause of death. The family’s belief in natural causes stands as the only explanation on record so far. The specific Florida city was not named in early reports, and the exact time of death has not been made public.
What is clear is the timeline of his career: third-round pick in 2011, eight years in Kansas City, two years and 31 games in Atlanta, then release in 2021. One hundred thirty-three games. Twenty-two sacks. Two hundred forty-eight tackles.
Death discoveries always raise hard questions for the people left behind, a burden families know too well in cases such as the homicide investigation after Tasia Fortune was found dead. Here the early word points to natural causes, not foul play, but official confirmation is still pending.
Bailey’s story ran from a late start on a Georgia island to the NFL trenches and a quiet end at home at 37. The record shows a durable pro who earned the respect of the men who blocked with him and coached him.
When a player this young is gone, the stats matter less than the hole left for a wife, a brother, and the teammates who still call him one of the best they knew.