Bailey Gaither
Bailey Gaither (born January 11, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at San Jose State.
_(cropped).jpg.webp) Gaither with San Jose State in 2019 | |
| No. 4 – Pittsburgh Maulers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 11, 1997 Paso Robles, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 188 lb (85 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Paso Robles (Paso Robles, California) |
| College: | San Jose State |
| Undrafted: | 2021 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| All-Mountain West Conference First Team (2020) | |
| Career NFL statistics | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
Early years
Gaither attended Paso Robles High School as a two-sport athlete, also excelling in baseball.
As a senior for the Bearcats, Gaither caught 73 passes for 1,480 yards,[1] returned 16 kickoffs for a 44.6-yard per-return average, and scored 30 total touchdowns on the season, as PRHS won the CIF Southern Section Northern Division championship.[2]
Gaither, who scored 56 combined touchdowns in his prep career, was evaluated as a three-star prospect by the 247 Sports Network, which ranked him among the top 150 overall players in the state.
He was also a high school teammate of fellow future pro Josh Oliver.
College career
After graduating high school, Gaither enrolled at San Jose State, where in his first year he redshirted.[3]
Gaither had arguably his best college season in 2019. He started all 12 games and caught 52 passes for 812 yards and 6 touchdowns (in six consecutive games, setting a program record[4]). He also recorded 1 punt return for 10 yards and had a blocked punt that was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 "Plays of the Day" for October 26.[3]
In his final college season, Gaither earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection[5] and graduated with his bachelor's degree in communication studies. He started 7 of 7 games as a captain for the Spartans, and caught 41 passes for 725 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 5 punt returns for 37 yards.
During the 2020 season, he helped SJSU earn its first AP Top 25 Poll ranking in eight years, as the Spartans peaked at No. 19 before finishing 24th in the final poll.
| Team | Rec. | Yds. | Avg. | LG | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | SJSU | 135 | 2,227 | 16.5 | 80t | 18 |
| Team | Att. | Yds. | Avg. | LG | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | SJSU | 4 | 30 | 7.5 | 21 | 0 |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
188 lb (85 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.48 s | 1.57 s | 2.62 s | 4.39 s | 7.07 s | 31 in (0.79 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | 9 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[6] | ||||||||||||
Green Bay Packers and initial retirement
Gaither signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft.[7] On August 3, 2021, he retired and was placed on reserve/retired list.[8] On August 20, 2021, he was waived from the retired list.[9]
Pittsburgh Maulers
Gaither came out of retirement and was selected in the 14th round of the 2022 USFL draft by the Pittsburgh Maulers, which reunited him with his former college teammate, Josh Love.[10] Gaither was transferred to the team's inactive roster on May 6, 2022,[11] with an illness.[12] He was moved back to the active roster on May 14.[13]
Baltimore Ravens
On July 27, 2022, Gaither signed with the Baltimore Ravens.[14] He was waived on August 23.[15]
| Preseason | Team | Rec. | Yds. | Avg. | LG | TD | Tgts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | BAL | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
New York Giants
On August 24, 2022, Gaither was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants.[16] He was waived the next day after failing his physical.[17]
Baltimore Ravens (second stint)
On October 5, 2022, Gaither re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens, joining their practice squad, but was released five days later.[18][19]
Pittsburgh Maulers (second stint)
Gaither re-signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers on January 24, 2023.[20]
Professional statistics (regular season)
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Rec. | Yds. | Avg. | LG | TD | Rush. Att. | Rush. Yds. | LG | Avg. | TD | KR | KR Yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | PIT | 7 | 2 | 24 | 328 | 13.7 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | PIT | 9 | 7 | 35 | 370 | 10.6 | 43 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 14 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
| Totals | 16 | 9 | 59 | 698 | 11.8 | 43 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 14 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
References
- "College Football Signings – San Jose State". The San Jose Mercury News. February 5, 2015. pp. 4C.
- Jankowski, Alex J. (January 11, 2015). "Shining Bright – Tribune County Football Player of the Year: Paso Robles' Bailey Gaither". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. S1.
- "84 – Bailey Gaither". sjsuspartans.com.
- San Jose State Football Record Book: Offerpad Arizona Bowl edition. SJSU Athletics Department. 2022. p. 39.
- Wilson, Nick (May 4, 2021). "NFL – Former Paso Robles, San Jose State standout signs with Packers". San Luis Obispo Tribune. pp. 1B.
- "Bailey Gaither, San Jose State, WR, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- "Packers agree to terms with rookie free agents". packers.com. May 3, 2021.
- "Packers rookie UDFA Bailey Gaither retires from football". usatoday.com. August 3, 2021.
- "Packers Waive WR Bailey Gaither From Retired List". nfltraderumors.co. August 20, 2021.
- Camenker, Jacob (February 23, 2022). "USFL Draft tracker: Complete results, rosters for new football league". Sporting News.
- @USFLMaulers (May 6, 2022). "Transferred to inactive roster" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
- @USFLMaulers (May 6, 2022). "Game Status Report" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
- @USFLMaulers (May 14, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Twitter.
- Simmons, Myles (July 27, 2022). "Ravens sign Bailey Gaither". NBCSports.com.
- Brown, Clifton (August 23, 2022). "Ravens Trim Roster to 80 Players". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- Eisen, Michael (August 24, 2022). "Collin Johnson to IR with Achilles; Giants claim 3 off waivers". Giants.com.
- Williams, Charean (August 25, 2022). "Giants waive Bailey Gaither with failed physical after claiming him off waivers". nbcsports.com.
- Grindley, Wyatt (October 5, 2022). "Ravens Activating RB Gus Edwards From PUP List, Signing WR Bailey Gaither To PS". NFL Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- Mink, Ryan (October 10, 2022). "Andy Isabella Officially Signed to Ravens Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- @USFLMaulers (January 24, 2023). "Free Agent Signing" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2023 – via Twitter.
Further reading
- Bailey, Joe (June 28, 2020). "Gaither named next finalist". Santa Maria Times. p. B1, B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- Wilson, Nick (May 4, 2021). "Former Paso Robles, San Jose State standout signs with Packers". The Tribune. p. B1, B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- Wilson, Nick (December 17, 2020). "Paso Robles grad Gaither starring at San Jose State". The Tribune. p. B2, B4 – via Newspapers.com.