DeAndre Baker Breaks Left Femur in Defensive Debut With Chiefs

After acclimating himself to the Kansas City Chiefs organization for a month and a half, cornerback DeAndre Baker suffered a "freak" injury in his first defensive game of the season.

In his first game on defense with the Kansas City Chiefs, cornerback DeAndre Baker broke his left femur.

Baker went down with a no-contact injury while defending Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Jalen Guyton in the third quarter of Sunday's loss. It appeared Baker’s leg stalled on the turf, causing his knee to twist as his body continued motion.

Members of the Chiefs’ medical staff attended to Baker for nearly 10 minutes before he was taken off the field in a covered EMS golf cart. He was on a stretcher with his left leg braced when the FOX broadcast showed him pointing to the sky.

Chiefs CB Deandre Baker points to the sky as he was taken off of the field on a stretcher 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3OMv43hj6D

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 3, 2021

“Yeah, I just told him to kind of hang in there," Reid said. "I mean, he was hurting, so obviously there was not a whole lot of talking to him right there. I’m just proud of the way he’s handled himself since he’s been here. He’s been through a tough road here and comes in and really has done a nice job with just concentrating on playing, and he went out and he was playing good football." 

The Chiefs signed Baker to the practice squad on Nov. 17, a day after armed robbery charges were dropped against him.

The former New York Giants first-round pick was promoted to the active roster on Dec. 20, but did not debut on the defense until Sunday.

When Baker left early in the third, he had already accumulated five tackles (four solo, one assist) and a sack for a loss of 11 yards.

"Kind of a freak thing that happened," Reid said about Baker's injury. "I know he will rebound from it, but for right now, our hearts go out to him.”

The Chiefs planned to have Baker compete for a starting spot in training camp next summer.

If he's significantly hurt, it could be an unfortunate game-changer in that regard https://t.co/lz80ORPRtt

— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 3, 2021

OTHER INJURIES

Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle. He exited five minutes into the game and recorded one tackle.

Cornerback Rashad Fenton departed with 5:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. Reid said both of Fenton’s ankles were bothering him.