DeAndre Baker doesn’t have anyone to blame for this one, it’s all on him.
An HR Director would have a field day with the type of file Baker’s putting together.
And if he’s not careful, that file is going to be his downfall. Because all he has to do right now is look down and see he’s one foot out the door. Possibly for good.
Because his latest blown assignment is, by far, his biggest one to date.
An arrest warrant is out for Baker’s arrest. He’s charged with four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault in his home state of Florida. And if the allegations are true, he’ll likely be out of a job.
Baker is 22 years old, he’s a young man — but, he’s a grown man. The New York Giants are his employer, at least for the time being.
What’s left of the four-year, $10.525 million contract he signed, with a $5.6 million signing bonus — yeah, that’s in jeopardy too.
He was the top cornerback on the board when Dave Gettleman traded a second-, fourth- and a fifth-round pick to move back into the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to get him.
Three draft picks — that’s what the Giants gave up to get Baker. That’s how high Gettleman had him on his board of dreams and high hopes.
This was big-game hunting at it’s finest. The type of young talent believed to have what it takes to be an elite NFL cornerback. That’s the type of price you pay for an elite player. The type of player who’ll be a playmaker and a game changer.
But Baker has struggled to make the transition from college to pro athlete.
The knock on him last season was his work ethic. Some labeled it as “inconsistent”, I prefer to call it what it was… lazy.
How else would you describe someone, recruited as highly as Baker? And that someone had the talent to excel for a strong Division I college program all the way to becoming the top player on the board at their position.
Baker, for all the hype, finished the season with zero interceptions and a report card with enough red marks on it to put Gettleman back on the hot seat for his job.
The Giants gave Gettleman another chance to fix his batting average. And with that chance, comes opportunity for players, like Baker, to get their acts together.
But there goes that young man again, blowing this opportunity like all those blown assignments last season.
After Baker was drafted, he described himself this way:
“A guy whose teammates can always count on me to be there on Sundays and every other day of the week.”
This proved to be false.
Gettleman moved heaven and earth to get Baker and all he has to show for it is one poor season, zero interceptions, and enough negative headlines to put the HR department on high alert.
Baker may lose his job with the Giants, new head coach Joe Judge has his hands full with this one. And he’s definitely getting a phone call from the league about the personal conduct policy.
But if Baker is not careful, the exit talk from his employers will be the least of his problems.
The allegations against him are serious enough where prison time could be on the radar if proven to be true.
It’s time for DeAndre Baker to get his act together. This isn’t a blown assignment on the football field, it’s on the field of life.
If this doesn’t grow him up, not much else will. And he’ll have no one to blame for it, but himself.
