NY Giants instruct DeAndre Baker to stay away from virtual meetings

Even though DeAndre Baker was released on bail and his case seems to be murkier than most originally thought, the NY Giants instructed the embattled cornerback to stay away from the team’s virtual meetings and practices for the time being.

NY Giants head coach, Joe Judge, is getting tested early on in his first tenure as a head coach in terms of player discipline, and if we’re being honest, it’s a very unenviable position to be in.

Cornerback DeAndre Baker had about as rough of a rookie season as a first-round draft pick can have, as his character concerns played themselves out while his play on the field left much to be desired. GM Dave Gettleman went out on a limb and shocked everyone when he traded back into the first round – giving up a king’s ransom to do so – to select the troubled, but uber-talented, cornerback out of the University of Georgia.

Of all the things that have come to light since Baker’s arrest, maybe the most troubling of them all have been how divided the NY Giants brass was, and that the team never even met with him in person. Gettleman stuck his neck out for talent instead of sticking with his usual ‘character, culture’ narrative and it has backfired on him big time so far.

According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan and Adam Schefter, Baker was immediately instructed to stay away from virtual team meetings and practices for the time being (something he was having no problem doing before the arrest, anyway).

This is a prudent move on behalf of Judge and Gettleman, as even though the case has taken a more positive spin since lawyers were hired and Baker was released on bail, the young corner has a long way to go until he’s back into good graces with the team.

The Giants are likely doing as much of their own homework on the case as they can possibly to right now to determine the best course of action. In addition, this move decreases the chances that Baker will be put on the infamous ‘Commissioner’s exempt list’, something that requires no evidence or conviction to be put on and has no end date.

Should Big Blue change their stance and welcome Baker back into the fray, that ups the chances of forcing Roger Goodell’s hand tremendously, and as long as the team continues to be prudent they may avoid having that worst-case scenario take place.

For now, the NY Giants have some semblance of control over this situation now that Baker is out of jail and they’ve made the right move so far.

We’ll see if that continues to be the case as this messy legal case evolves.