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Giants’ DeAndre Baker placed on Commissioner’s Exempt List

DeAndre Baker, the Giants cornerback entangled in a serious legal battle, has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, allowing the Giants to prevent any possible distraction while Baker gets paid to stay away from the team. Baker, 22, is facing four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault …

DeAndre Baker, the Giants cornerback entangled in a serious legal battle, has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, allowing the Giants to prevent any possible distraction while Baker gets paid to stay away from the team.

Baker, 22, is facing four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault stemming from a May 13 incident at a house party in Miramar, Fla. No official charges have been made yet by the Broward County prosecutor’s office and Baker’s representation maintains Baker was the victim on an extortion scheme and the case should be dismissed.

Only NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has the authority to put a player on the Exempt List and this takes the decision on what to do with Baker out of the Giants’ hands. While on the list, Baker will get paid but he does not count on the team’s roster. Baker is allowed to be present at the team facility, to work out with the team and receive treatment but is not allowed to practice or attend games. Most likely, the Giants would tell Baker to stay away from the team while he is on the Exempt List.

Baker has the right to appeal and will do so, according to Patrick Patel, one of Baker’s attorneys.

DeAndre BakerCharles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Veteran Giants players will report to the team facility on Tuesday, get COVID-19 tests and then leave, spending the next two days engaging in remote meetings before returning to the facility for another COVID-19 test. If both come back negative, players will take physicals beginning Aug. 1. On-field strength and conditioning is scheduled to begin Aug. 3. The first padded practice will not be until Aug. 17.

Giants rookies, quarterbacks, select veterans and those rehabbing injuries were given COVID-19 tests last week and those with negative tests will begin getting physicals on Monday.

Baker was granted permission to leave the state of Florida for work purposes and arrived Sunday in New Jersey. He maintains the apartment in Weehawken he lived in last season and was hoping to be allowed to report to camp with the rest of his teammates. That will not happen now. Baker, a 2019 first-round draft pick from Georgia – the Giants traded up to get him – struggled as a rookie, both on and off the field, as far as preparation and production. He did improve late in the season.

Goodell uses the Exempt List as a way to stash players facing legal issues. According to the NFL Player Personnel Manual, “The Commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the Commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the Active List.”

In the past, players such as Michael Vick (2009), Jonathan Vilma (2012), Adrian Peterson (2014), Greg Hardy (2014), Josh Brown (2016), Reuben Foster (2018) and Kareem Hunt (2018) were placed on the Exempt List.

Even if the case against Baker is dismissed, it remains to be seen if new head coach Joe Judge wants Baker on the team. The Giants will release kicker Aldrick Rosas, who is facing three misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, hit and run property damage and driving on a suspended license in California after a car accident. This is not the first incident involving Rosas, who was arrested for driving under the influence in 2016, the year before he was signed by the Giants.

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