The Kansas City Chiefs lost a member of their defensive secondary during Sunday’s 38-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Cornerback DeAndre Baker suffered a fractured left femur in the third quarter of Kansas City’s Week 17 matchup.
Baker, 23, was taken off of the field on a stretcher after suffering the injury.
Head Coach Andy Reid spoke on the injury during his post game press conference.
“My heart goes out to the kid,” he said. “He busted his tail and really did a nice job for us. He’ll be able to come back from that, so that’s a positive as we go forward.”
Baker was activated from the practice squad on Saturday and was one of Kansas City’s starting corners since the Chiefs were resting their top defensive backs, amongst other starters, for the postseason, after clinching the AFC’s top seed last week.
Before the injury occurred, Baker was having a nice game registering five tackles, a sack, and a pass deflection.
Coach Reid praised the young corner’s work ethic and was optimistic that Baker will be back on the gridiron next season.
“I’m just proud of the way he’s handled himself since he’s been here,” he said. “He’s been through a tough road here, and he comes in, and he really has done a nice job concentrating on playing, and he was playing good football. Kind of a freak thing that happened. I know he’ll rebound from it.”
Baker began his NFL career as the 30th overall selection in the 2019 draft by the New York Giants. He was waived by New York this past September while he was facing legal accusations that included four counts of robbery with a firearm. Kansas City picked him up in November 2020 and signed him to their practice squad after the charges were dropped.
