The New York Giants are preparing to release cornerback DeAndre Baker, the 2019 first-round pick who was charged with armed robbery for an incident in May
Baker, the No.30 overall pick in 2019, will soon find himself out of the NFL and with an uncertain future in football as he awaits much bigger problems in court.
Latest news on Giants’ cornerback DeAndre Baker
Baker landed on the Commission’s Exempt list in July, along with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar, for their alleged involvement in an armed robbery early this offseason. While charges against Dunbar were dropped, Baker is now facing the possibility of life in prison with four counts of robbery with a firearm.
Baker started in 15 games for the Giants this past season, but failed to record an interception as a rookie. He struggled in pass coverage, drawing a 48.4 grade from Pro Football Focus with 49 receptions allowed ion 79 passes thrown in his direction.
The writing was on the wall for the 23-year-old cornerback. When the Giants welcomed players for training camp this summer, the team gave his No. 27 jersey number away to another player and he was banned from being at the team’s facilities.
Now, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, New York is expected to release Baker in the near future and move on from their former first-round pick for good.
Baker signed a four-year, $10.525 million rookie contract with the Giants before the 2019 season and the deal included a $5.675 million signing bonus. While he would still count against the team’s salary cap following his release, New York will state he violated his contract and void the money owed.
He turned himself in to authorities a few days after the incident, later being released on bond and pleading not guilty on all charges. Baker’s lawyer first claimed that the young cornerback was playing Madden at the time of the armed robbery. The lead attorney representing the 2018 Him Thorpe Award winner later said Baker is being extorted.
If he is convicted, Baker faces a mandatory minimum of a 10-year prison sentence. While he will have his day in court to prove his innocence, it seems likely that Baker’s NFL career is over.