Giants’ Corner Charged With Florida Robbery
CB Deandre Baker was one of the Giants first-round selections in 2019. He had a tremendous last season at Georgia, winning the Jim Thorpe award as the best cornerback in the nation and becoming an All-American. But Baker’s first season as a rookie was anything but smooth sailing, as he was frequently lost in coverage and generally struggled to learn the playbook. Baker’s struggles seem to have extended off the field as well, as he and Seahawks’ corner Quinten Dunbar were charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm last week at a Florida house party. They were reported to have gambling debts, and allegedly attempted to steal Rolexes and cash from a house in Miramar. Baker and Dunbar both pleaded not guilty to all 8 charges. It will be decided in the next few weeks whether Baker and Dunbar’s case goes to trial. Baker’s attorney has said that he has affidavits proving the innocence of his client. It is assumed by both players’ attorneys that all charges will eventually be dropped.
The Giants have reportedly told Baker to stay away from the team's virtual meetings until he sorts out his troubles with the law. Even before Baker’s incident last week, he was absent from the previous virtual meetings that Joe Judge’s new staff has conducted. Court records granted a motion to travel to New Jersey, and he is required to attend all OTA’s, as well as the training camp that will hopefully be conducted this summer. It seems as if Baker may have gotten lucky, and if he can stay out of trouble and these charges have a better possibility of disappearing.
The bottom line is that this made both Baker and the New York Giants look bad. The Giants traded up to get Baker last year, and all he has shown are flaws in his game and character issues. It’s going to be up to the young player to decide if he wants this to snowball and cause more problems for himself, or if he will take this as a wake-up call to get his act together and become the corner many thought he would be coming out of Georgia. The Giants are young at the corner position, and expected Baker to play a huge role on defense. Pat Shurmur may have been the type of guy to put up with antics, but I can’t see Joe Judge taking long to cut Baker loose if he slips up again. Even more eyes will now be on the second-year pro to perform at a much higher level than he did last season.
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