Former New York Giants 2019 first-round cornerback DeAndre Baker was recently exonerated of his charges associated with armed robbery and assault. Baker's story is a weird one, but essentially, back in May, Baker was allegedly playing dice with some friends in Miramar, Florida before Baker pulled out a firearm and asked other participants to give up jewelry, cash. Baker was being charged with four counts of aggravated assault and four counts of armed robbery. Current Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar was also present at the scene and was thought to have been involved, but no charges were filed against him due to insufficient evidence. Baker was banned from team activities with the Giants shortly after he was taken into custody and was later released from the team in September.
However, Baker's aforementioned charges were dropped after the lawyer of the three victims in the case was arrested for extortion. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reported that attorney William Dean, allegedly tried to extort Baker out of almost $800,000 in order to get his clients to change their story. The three victims have since recanted their claims against Baker.
"The result is the correct result in dismissing DeAndre's case," Baker's attorney Bradford Cohen said. "We have been saying he was a victim of an extortion from day one."
With that being said, DeAndre Baker is now eligible to sign with any team. Of course, the Kansas City Chiefs have already expressed interest according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. It is worth noting that Baker's former team in the Giants have confirmed there will be no interest in bringing him back.
It would make sense why the Chiefs are interested, Andy Reid has a track record in helping players who have gotten in trouble in the past. Names like Tyreek Hill, Frank Clark, and Tyrann Mathieu immediately come to mind. Tyrann Mathieu even went through his own extortion case prior to the 2019 season where he was set up by a family member. This is a common occurrence with wealthy athletes unfortunately. Baker simply looks to just be a victim here just like Mathieu and even Tyreek Hill were in their respective cases, or at least that is what the evidence would suggest. The Chiefs will now be able to capitalize on scooping up a talented player for cheap.
The Chiefs even interviewed Baker during the pre-draft process in 2019 so there is already a history there when it comes to interest. The Chiefs are always willing to add more talent and with the potential of adding Baker, Kansas City could have an embarrassment of riches and a really good cornerback group going forward should they continue to pursue Baker. The possibility of being able to play with a Super Bowl contender and walk into a great locker room may be the swaying factor for Baker.
The former Georgia Bulldog recorded 61 total tackles, 8 passes defended, and 2 tackles for a loss in his lone season with the Giants. While he didn't record any interceptions in his rookie season, he did show the ability to stick with his man and play physical. With the Chiefs cornerback group being pretty thin and only having three players at the position under contract for next season, don't be surprised if they pick up Baker to bolster their secondary and give themselves the flexibility to focus on other roster weaknesses this offseason.
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