New York Giants waive CB DeAndre Baker

It’s officially official. The New York Giants have waived cornerback DeAndre Baker with the regular season right around the corner.

A move that many were expecting, and a move that needed to be made.

On Tuesday, the New York Giants officially waived cornerback DeAndre Baker. The second-year man hadn’t been with the team in training camp due to the fact that he was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list in July. Baker was allegedly involved in an incident at a May cookout in Miramar, Florida, an event that led to authorities charging him with four counts of armed robbery.

The Giants had recently been hinting at this transaction, with general manager Dave Gettleman speaking on the matter last Wednesday.

“All I can say to that: In life, there’s timing that’s involved,” he said, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano. “In life, there’s timing. That’s how I’ll respond to that.”

The Giants additionally gave their No. 27 jersey — Baker’s previous uniform number — to newly acquired cornerback Isaac Yiadom. This specific move essentially made it official that the organization would be parting ways with the man they traded up to draft just last year.

New York needed to waive Baker at this time considering they would’ve had to pay his salary for this season. This comes in spite of the fact that he wouldn’t be counting towards the roster.

The Giants have already added numerous defensive backs en route to completely replacing Baker, at least for this upcoming campaign. Along with trading for Yiadom, the Giants also signed Logan Ryan to a one-year, $7.5 million deal last week. It’s not exactly clear whether Ryan will participate in Baker’s old spot; his versatility will allow him to play essentially anywhere in Patrick Graham’s secondary.

For many fans, this is a “goodbye and good riddance” type of situation. After the Giants gave up a trio of picks to draft Baker at No. 30 overall in 2019, the former Georgia Bulldog mightily struggled during his rookie campaign. Not to mention, he was the subject of an effort-related controversey, stemming from a play during the Week 10 loss to the New York Jets.

Hargreaves benched/cut for lack of hustle.

Let's just say DeAndre Baker is lucky Bruce Arians isn't his coach: https://t.co/HLGlyEKRLS pic.twitter.com/ZiP8U91tWt

— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 12, 2019

Baker’s fate — both as a player and free human being — is currently unclear. His next court date is currently set to be held on Jan. 20, 2021. If convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.