Gettleman Insists Team "Didn't Miss Anything" on DeAndre Baker

The Giants insist they performed their due diligence on cornerback DeAndre Baker, and apparently nothing suggested that Baker might one day find himself in the kind of predicament he's currently in.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman insisted Wednesday that despite the team’s comprehensive research into cornerback DeAndre Baker's background, there was nothing that offered any insight into potential legal issues such as what Baker is currently facing.

Baker, who cost the Giants their second-round pick (No. 37), a fourth-rounder (No. 132), and a fifth-rounder (No. 142) to move up seven spots and back into the first round at No. 30, is currently facing charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm.

“Did we thoroughly investigate the DeAndre’s background? Absolutely,” Gettleman said Wednesday in his first public comments with reporters since the draft. “There’s nothing there that we didn’t know.

"There was nothing in DeAndre’s background that would suggest these things would happen. So it’s disappointing on a variety of levels."

Baker, who starred at Georgia, apparently raised some red flags in the scouting community thanks to a questionable work ethic. The New York Post reported earlier this year that there was even some disagreement within the Giants organization regarding whether to take a chance on Baker.

Gettleman, perhaps hoping that any issues with Baker’s work environment might improve once he arrived in East Rutherford, saw what he perceived as a golden opportunity to draft a talented, albeit immature at the time player who might blossom into a shutdown corner.

Baker, whose September court hearing was rescheduled for January 2021, is currently on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. If he remains there, he’ll collect his $973,442 base salary, which is part of a $2.392 million cap hit he carries this year.

Gettleman, who said that the team is continuing to weigh its options regarding whether to continue keeping Baker on the roster, said he’s disappointed by the turn of events that the team’s research gave no warning of occurring.

“It’s disappointing and I guess what it teaches us all is nothing’s 100 percent except death and taxes. It’s disappointing. I’d be lying if I said anything less.”

If the Giants were to cut Baker, they would have to eat $1,418 million of his $5.675 million prorated signing bonus this year and absorb a $3.777 million dead money cap hit in 20201, a year in which the salary cap is projected to drop as low as $175 million.

However, the Giants could look to recover Baker’s signing bonus, but that might prove to be more challenging and not worth the trouble.