Report: Giants' Baker expects to be cut amid armed robbery charges

Cornerback DeAndre Baker is expecting the New York Giants to release him this week, a source close to the 22-year-old told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

Baker was charged with four counts of armed robbery in early August and is awaiting trial scheduled for Jan. 20, 2021. If convicted, he'll face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in state prison.

In May, Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar were arrested and accused of robbery in Miramar, Florida. Witnesses said Baker pointed a gun at attendees of a party and directed two other men, including Dunbar, to take their money and valuables. He also allegedly ordered another suspect to shoot an individual who entered during the incident.

Prosecutors declined to charge Dunbar, citing "insufficient evidence." Baker's attorney, Bradford Cohen, previously criticized the charges against his client, labeling them "disgusting."

Baker has been on the commissioner's exempt list since July, and the Giants will have to pay his base salary of $973,442 if he's on the roster at the start of the regular season.

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman expressed his disappointment with the incident involving Baker.

"There was nothing in DeAndre's background that would suggest these things would happen," Gettleman said Wednesday. "So it's disappointing on a variety of levels. It's disappointing and I guess what it teaches us all is nothing's 100% except death and taxes. It's disappointing. I'd be lying if I said anything less. It's disappointing, but it's life."

The GM added, "In life, there's timing that's involved. In life, there's timing. That's how I'll respond to that."

New York drafted Baker out of Georgia in the first round in 2019. He amassed 61 tackles and eight pass breakups through 16 games as a rookie.