DeAndre Baker eligible to sign with NFL teams after legal case takes surprising turn

Former Georgia defensive back DeAndre Baker is eligible to sign with NFL teams following a significant development in his court case.

Baker was being charged with robbery with a firearm, but the attorney who was representing three of Baker’s alleged victims was arrested on Monday morning for an alleged extortion attempt against Baker.

Here’s a good rundown of the situation from the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard:

BREAKING: William Dean, attorney for three of DeAndre Baker's four alleged victims, has been arrested in Broward County (Fla.) and is facing an "extortion charge" connected to the armed robbery case involving Baker and Quinton Dunbar. pic.twitter.com/VGTvh6KgpE

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) November 16, 2020

Vics would either stop cooperating with prosecutors in the case or change their initial sworn statements to police, thereby weakening the case against Baker. Evidence reveals Dean told Baker’s attorney his clients would do “anything you want, so long as the money is right.”

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) November 16, 2020

As a result, the charges against Baker were dropped on Monday morning.

That means he’s now eligible to sign with an NFL team, pending further investigation by the NFL.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he has had NFL teams reach out to him to ask about Baker’s situation.

“I’m very thankful for Deandre, for that happening for him. Hope he can get things straightened out,” Smart said on Monday.

Baker is a former first-round pick of the New York Giants. He was released by the Giants after the alleged incident but played in all 16 games last season.

He registered eight pass deflections and two tackles for loss.