The New York Giants have an important decision to make on cornerback DeAndre Baker, who is facing four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault after allegedly holding up a party on Wednesday evening.
Not only is Baker facing some serious — very serious — legal troubles, he’s also been remarkably detached from the team. He reportedly fell asleep during meetings in 2019 and has skipped first-year head coach Joe Judge’s voluntary minicamp this week.
Judge was undoubtedly displeased with Baker from the jump, so his pending arrest certainly doesn’t help — especially for a coach who is determined to eliminate all distractions.
So what are the Giants, Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman to do?
The obvious answer is to cut Baker, but that will come with its own series of pitfalls. Baker would account for nearly $7.6 million in dead cap in 2020, which is something the Giants could fight to have eliminated due to violations of multiple league-wide policies, but that would be a long-winded process.
It would make a statement, however. It would show that Judge is the new Sheriff in town and that things of this nature simply will not be tolerated (nor should they be).
But it’s always difficult to give up on talent, especially when you’ve invested so heavily. So instead, expect the Giants to allow the NFL to hand down the suspension and then wait out “the legal process” for however long that takes.
Still, what Gettleman and Judge say next will determine how they’re viewed by ownership, reporters, fans and Giants players alike.
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