Giants to Release DeAndre Baker

The team is cutting its losses with their one-time starting cornerback.

The Giants are expected to release cornerback DeAndre Baker this week, the NFL Network reports, confirming what numerous beat writers reported last week.

The pending move comes as no surprise as both general manager Dave Gettleman and team COO John Mara have recently hinted that a decision on Baker, one of their three first-round draft picks last year and the one they traded up to get, was coming sooner than later.

"The DeAndre thing was a shock," Mara said last week when about Baker's legal issues. 

"I listen very closely in those draft meetings when they talk about players and their backgrounds and whatnot, and particularly when you’re talking about a first-round player. There was no indication that we should be concerned about any criminal activity. That was a big disappointment."

Gettleman echoed that sentiment that there was nothing in the team's investigation of Baker's background that would have suggested he might run afoul of the law.  

Since the start of training camp, Baker, who has been on the Commissioner's Exempt List, is facing four counts of armed robbery with a firearm related to a May 13 Florida social gathering in which Baker is alleged to have stolen designer watches and cash from four victims.

If convicted on all charges, Baker, whose initial court date was delayed from a mid-September date to January 20, 2021, could face up to life in prison.

#Giants are set to release CB Deandre Baker, officially moving on from their ex-first rounder this week, source said. Not a surprise, they’d hinted at it... and recently gave away his number. Baker was on the Commissioner’s Exempt list after charges with 4 counts of armed robbery

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2020

By being on the Commissioner's Exempt List, Baker did not count toward the Giants roster but was still eligible to receive his full pay had he remained there through the upcoming season.

That obviously won't happen now as the Giants are not only expected to have any guaranteed money in Baker's remaining contract voided, they could look to recoup some of his $5,675,064 signing bonus. 

The Giants have already given away Baker's No. 27 to cornerback Isaac Yiadom, whom the team acquired via trade from the Broncos.