Yesterday the Kansas City Chiefs signed former USFL wide receiver Devin Gray to a one-year deal. But to officially add the 27-year-old pass-catcher to the active roster, the team needed to make a roster cut.
As ESPN’s Chiefs beat writer Adam Teicher reports, Kansas City decided to waive cornerback Deandre Baker Wednesday morning.
Baker entered the league as a first-round draft pick by the New York Giants in 2019, accounting for 55 total tackles and eight pass deflections in 16 games as a rookie. However, an incident in Miami, Flordia, led to his arrest and prosecution with four counts of attempted armed robbery the following May. Thus, landing him on the Commissioner’s exempt list. The Giants released Baker from the team a few months later, in September 2020.
In November, the charges against Baker were dropped when the lawyer representing the alleged accusers charged with making false accusations to extort him. After reclaiming his innocence, Baker was reinstated by the NFL and was given a brand new opportunity to get his football career on track with the Chiefs, getting signed to the practice squad later that month.
Baker appeared in just three games for Kansas City during the 2020 season, and after starting in a meaningless Week 17 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers, he suffered a broken femur, ending his season.
In 2021, Baker appeared in just eight games, starting one, and finished the season with 16 tackles (13 solo) and one pass deflection.
The move to release Baker isn’t too surprising since he was already down the depth chart at the end of last season and fell even further with the additions of rookies Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Josh Williams, and veteran Lonnie Johnson.
