Was New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker involved in a pay-off cover-up to escape charges stemming from an armed robbery that occurred in May in Florida?
Baker’s attorneys say no, but a warrant obtained by the New York Daily News on Friday certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture.
The warrant cites evidence, including video footage and direct messages, that allegedly show one of the “witnesses” involved with robbery oversaw a pay-off of the four alleged victims.
However, Patrick Patel, one of Baker’s attorneys, say they were aware of the entire situation and were instructing the 22-year-old what to write during the text exchanges in an effort to uncover a bribery attempt.
Patel and Baker’s other attorney, Bradford Cohen, believe this will actually help exonerate the young cornerback.
“They just made our case even stronger,” Patel told the New York Post after the Daily News report surfaced. “We wanted to flush them out to see what they were trying to do. We didn’t go to the meeting, we didn’t pay, purposely.
“We were with DeAndre telling him, ‘Write him, ask him, what does he want, what times does he want to meet?.’ We were the ones who controlled the narrative. Baker had no intention of ever going. He was just trying to solicit the information of the blackmail from Coach.”
Whether that is true or not — and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t — the entire situation may have jumped the shark in the Giants’ eye.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports that the Giants are expected to cut Baker as the result of his ongoing legal drama.
Unnamed Giants sources told the Daily News on Friday night that they would not expect corner DeAndre Baker to remain on the team much longer.
The sources said this in direct response to the News’ exclusive report of a search warrant in the case against Baker and Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar that provided ample evidence allegedly showing a payoff cover-up at the office of Dunbar’s attorney, Michael Grieco.
Despite Leonard’s report, the Giants have not released an official statement on the recently uncovered warrant and did not comment when reached by NJ Advance Media.
The Giants traded up and back into Round 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft to select Baker, who went on to have a less-than-stellar rookie campaign which was marred by inconsistent play and motivational issues.
Baker reportedly fell asleep during team meetings and drew the ire of his teammates.
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