Jets Abruptly Cancel David Bailey Meeting, Insider Responds

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Texas Tech defender David Bailey going through a drill at the 2026 NFL Combine.

The New York Jets abruptly canceled their scheduled 30-visit with Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey, Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on social media.

Shortly after Hughes’ report, ESPN’s Rich Cimini jumped on the “Jets Collective” podcast to explain what it all means.

“Yeah, I just found out about that by Connor Hughes right before we came on, so we don’t know when that visit was scheduled for, first of all. That could have been two or three weeks ago. Secondly, I would not read into it as a negative necessarily,” Cimini said on the podcast.

“Most of these 30 visits are when teams have medical questions, medical rechecks, they haven’t gotten an opportunity either at the combine, the Senior Bowl, or a Pro Day to sit down with the guy, you know, have a conversation, have an extensive meeting. So they’re usually checking boxes when they bring these guys in. So it could mean that they don’t need any more boxes checked with David Bailey, and they feel entirely comfortable with who he is as a player and a person that could be one of the reasons. Or perhaps it was a logistical reason. I do not know, this is pretty new, and so I would not read into it as the Jets are crossing Bailey off their draft list. I would not eliminate him from the No. 2 pick based on that information,” Cimini added.

ESPN’s Matt Miller posted an interesting note on social media that wasn’t directly related to this Bailey issue; it was posted a day before that.

“This might be common knowledge, and it might be new information for some of my followers, but generally speaking, the more 30 visits a player has pre-draft, the more questions there are about that player,” Miller explained.

Cimini Dives Into the Jets Thinking

Longtime radio personality Brandon Tierney said this news raised some eyebrows because, regardless of the reason, he urged the Jets to “play the game” and make people think you’re in on Bailey to create trade interest.

ESPN New York’s Jake Asman described this entire offseason process leading into the draft as “odd.” Seemingly, since the get-go, the Jets were connected to Ohio State’s Arvell Reese. Then over the last two weeks, the Bailey buzz has been palpable.

Now we have this latest plot twist with a canceled meeting that created a stir on social media.

“One more thing on the Bailey thing, the Jets had all of their top people at Texas Tech for his Pro Day, and they met with him there. So he doesn’t have any medical issues. Maybe they just felt good, and they didn’t need any more information, so I just wanted to throw that in there,” Cimini said in response on the “Jets Collective” podcast.

Cimini also said just because people in the public are changing their stance on what the Jets are going to do doesn’t mean the team keeps waffling behind the scenes.

We Need to Adjust the Debate

There is a war happening on social media.

Some Jets fans want Reese, and others want Bailey. The people on one side think their guy is the best, and the other guy stinks, and vice versa.

*Cue the 30-for-30 music*

What if I told you that both players were really good? What if I told you that there is a world where both players are good choices?

There have been drafts where multiple players at the top have been very good. Social media has been divisive. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. However, to build one guy up, you don’t have to tear another guy down.

The Jets need help on defense. They were one of the worst units in NFL history last year. Either Bailey or Reese would help a ton. Whoever the Jets end up choosing on draft day should have an immediate impact.

Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.