Some players leave and you shrug – others leave and the wound never quite closes – as with Champ Bailey and Paul Krause. Two future Hall of Famers. Two elite defensive backs who arrived in Washington with massive upside, delivered at a high level while wearing burgundy and gold, and then were traded away in deals that look worse with every passing year.
Neither could ever really be considered a Redskins Legend. After all, their true glory years and their Hall of Fame identities belong elsewhere. So this page will have to serve as both tribute and indictment: a reminder of how good they were for us, and how badly we let them go.
Paul Krause – The Interception Machine We Gave Away
In 1964 the Redskins selected Iowa’s Paul Krause in the second round (18th overall). The tall, rangy free safety immediately looked like a steal. As a rookie he led the entire NFL with TWELVE interceptions, earned first-team All-Pro honors, and made the Pro Bowl. Over the next three seasons he continued to ball-hawk at a ridiculous rate. By the time he had been with Washington for four years, Krause had 28 interceptions — a total that would constitute a strong career for many-to-most safeties.
Then came one of the more baffling trades in franchise history. In 1968 the Redskins shipped Krause to the Minnesota Vikings for linebacker Marlin McKeever and a seventh-round pick. McKeever was a serviceable player. The seventh-rounder never amounted to anything. Krause, meanwhile, spent the next 12 seasons in Minnesota and became the greatest interception artist the game has ever seen. He finished with 81 career picks — still the NFL record nearly half a century later. He made six more Pro Bowls, started in four Super Bowls, and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998 wearing a Vikings blazer.
“I would have liked to stay with the Redskins, but that’s not the way it worked out.” – Paul Krause.
Washington got four excellent seasons out of him. Minnesota got a Hall of Famer and a permanent piece of franchise lore.
Champ Bailey – The Shutdown Corner We Couldn’t Keep
Thirty-five years later the franchise repeated the same basic mistake with a different kind of defensive back.
In 1999 Washington used the seventh overall pick on Georgia cornerback Champ Bailey. He was polished from day one. Bailey made the Pro Bowl in each of his final four seasons in Washington (2000–2003), earned All-Pro recognition, and established himself as one of the purest cover corners in the league. By the end of his fifth year he already had 18 interceptions and a reputation as a true shutdown player.
Contract issues and a desire for a proven running back led to the March 2004 blockbuster: Bailey and a second-round pick were sent to Denver for Clinton Portis. Portis gave Washington several productive seasons and some memorable moments. Bailey gave the Broncos a decade of elite corner play. He made eight more Pro Bowls in Denver, earned three consecutive first-team All-Pro nods (2004–2006), and finished with a record 12 Pro Bowl selections for a cornerback. When he entered the Hall of Fame in 2019, he went in as a Bronco.
Washington got five very good years and a solid return in Portis. Denver got a first-ballot Hall of Famer who defined an era at the position. Once again, the better end of the deal left town.
Parallel Regrets
The surface details differ — one was a 1960s free safety traded for a linebacker and a late pick; the other was a modern corner swapped in a star-for-star deal. The underlying story is nearly identical. Both players were drafted high by Washington, both produced at a Pro Bowl level while here, both were still young when they were moved, and both became the definitive versions of themselves somewhere else.
Krause’s trade feels more like pure misjudgment. Bailey’s was more complicated — contract leverage, scheme fit, and the genuine appeal of Portis all played roles. Hindsight is cruel in both cases. The Redskins gave away two of the best defensive backs of their respective generations and received far less than they gave.
Neither man is remembered first and foremost as a Redskin, and that is the part that hurts most. Krause’s 28 interceptions in four seasons and Bailey’s four straight Pro Bowls in Washington were not footnotes. They were genuine peaks. They just weren’t long enough.
For a franchise that has known more than its share of personnel heartbreak, Paul Krause and Champ Bailey sit near the top of the list. Great players. Great for us — just not nearly long enough.
And that is why they remain two of the ones that got away.
Fun Fact:
Both Krause and Bailey had interceptions in their NFL debuts, and lost their games. Krause had two in a losing effort to the Cleveland Browns. Bailey picked off a pass thrown by Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman that was intended for wide receiver Raghib “Rocket” Ismail.
The Krause pick happened on September 13th, 1964. Bailey’s came 35 years minus a day later, on September 12th, 1999.