Champ Bailey Returns to Practice with Team

Champ Bailey returned to the football field and also coach Josh McDaniels' good graces Saturday after failing his conditioning test 48 hours earlier.

The perennial Pro Bowl cornerback said at first he was angry with the Denver Broncos' new head coach but came to realize McDaniels made the right move in holding him out of Friday's two practices along with safety Renaldo Hill and defensive lineman Marcus Thomas.

"It bothered me a little, but I'm all for the right thing, you know?" Bailey said after the three veterans returned to action Saturday. "In the end, as long as I'm there Sept. 13 (for the season opener), that's all that matters."

Bailey and the others were banished to the team's weight room during Friday's practices, and Bailey acknowledged it was difficult for a team leader like himself to accept such a red-faced punishment.

"It's frustrating because one thing I want to do is always practice," Bailey said. "I don't want to be just a guy off to the side, and I've had my share of days doing that. So, I want to be out here practicing."

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