The Kansas City Chiefs have decided to release cornerback Deandre Baker early in the preseason, per Adam Teicher.
It’s been a disappointing stint for Deandre Baker during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, and now that the team has loaded up on an abundance of new players in the offseason, the franchise has decided to release the veteran cornerback early in training camp—a move that will allow him to find a new opportunity with plenty of time to compete.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Teicher, the Chiefs have released Baker with all three preseason games left to go. The competition at cornerback was always going to be stiff, and the Chiefs are apparently done trying to get Baker to fit into what Steve Spagnuolo demands from the defense as a former first-round pick.
The Chiefs were able to sign Baker to a contract back in 2020 after he was released by the New York Giants early that year. The Giants had invested their first-round pick on him in 2019—in fact he was the first corner off the board in that entire class—but he’d faced charges of armed robbery that were eventually dropped (the allegations were proven false). Instead of standing by him, the Giants dropped him anyway.
The Chiefs, at the time, thought they were getting a first-round talent on the cheap, but things never turned out that way. Even after he first signed, Baker lingered on the practice squad for several weeks before getting a chance to play. From there, Baker suffered a broken femur when finally given a chance to play in Week 17 against the Chargers, which only further complicated his road to any playing time going forward.
Heading into training camp, the Chiefs were in the midst of a complete reinvention in the secondary which left Baker’s status in doubt as it was. Trent McDuffie was drafted in the first round, and the Chiefs followed up with several other candidates for reps and/or future roles in Joshua Williams in the fourth round and Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson in the seventh. Following the draft, the Chiefs also traded for Lonnie Johnson in a minor deal with the Houston Texans. Combined with new rookie free agents and holdover developmental talent, Baker simply had nowhere to go.
Last season, Baker played in 8 games for the Chiefs and had 16 tackles while playing in 39 percent of the snaps. He also logged time on special teams. Given the buzz surrounding him coming into the league and the fact that he’s still only 24, Baker will have no problem finding another team soon enough.