Georgia football: Former Dawg Sterling Bailey joins Carolina Panthers

Former Georgia football, and current NFL journeyman linebacker Sterling Bailey joined his fifth NFL team Tuesday. He signed with Carolina Panthers with hopes of cracking the game day roster.

Former Georgia football player Sterling Bailey’s quest to find playing time in an NFL game continued Tuesday. He signed with the Carolina Panthers. In going on three professional seasons, Bailey has played for five NFL teams but is yet to play a down in the NFL.

Bailey entered the league as an un-drafted free agent in 2016 with the Indianapolis Colts. He then spent two weeks on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad before being released again. The Vikings signed him for the remainder of the 2016 season, but they cut him in the offseason. Tampa Bay picked him up for 2017 but he remained relegated to the practice squad.

Now the Panthers are taking a shot on Bailey to join their defense for 2018. The preseason is under way and the Panthers play their first preseason game Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills.

At Georgia, Bailey had a solid career. He played a big role on the defense in his last three years on campus and he finished his days in Athens with 107 total tackles. The best game of his career was against South Carolina in 2013. He made 10 tackles that day and recorded his first sack.

That sack came at the perfect time. The Gamecocks just reached the Georgia eight-yard-line. Connor Shaw tried to pick up yards with his legs but Bailey made the sack before Shaw could reach the line of scrimmage. He was then involved on the goal line stop on third down. Georgia’s defense forced Carolina off the field on fourth down and the offense marched downfield and ran out the clock to win the game 41-30.

Hopefully Bailey’s NFL career can take a turn for the better in Carolina. He’ll have the Bulldog Nation behind him and there are other Bulldog’s already in Carolina that he can lean on.