HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Christopher Isaiah Baker (born October 8, 1987), nicknamed "Swaggy", is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...
who played nine seasons in
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
at
Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...
and signed with the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
as an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
in 2009. Baker was also a member of the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, Hartford Colonials,
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, and
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
.


College career

Baker originally played football collegiately at
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
. Before the 2007 season, he was involved in two separate off-campus fights along with nine of his Penn State teammates. On June 26, 2007, Penn State temporarily expelled all ten involved players from July 1 through the end of the summer semester in mid-August. His expulsion was later made permanent. Baker transferred to
Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...
to continue playing football in 2008.


Professional career


Denver Broncos

Baker signed with the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
on April 27, 2009. He played one game for the Broncos for the 2009 season. On September 3, 2010, the Broncos released Baker.


Miami Dolphins

On October 7, 2010, Baker was signed to the practice squad of the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
. He was promoted to the active 53-man roster on November 26, 2010. He played one game for the Dolphins in the 2010 season. The Dolphins released him on July 31, 2011.


Washington Redskins

On September 5, 2011, the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
signed Baker to its practice squad. On December 6, 2011, Baker was promoted from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster. Without even playing a game for the Redskins, he was placed on injured reserve due to a
quad Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...
injury on December 13, 2011. By the start of 2012 training camp, Baker was fully healed and was expected to compete with
Chris Neild Chris Neild (born December 1, 1987) is a former American football nose tackle that played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at ...
for the backup nose tackle position. After Neild was placed on injured reserve in the preseason, Baker made the final 53-man roster in his place. Originally set to become a restricted free agent, the Redskins tendered a restricted free-agent right-of-first-refusal qualifying offer to Baker on March 11, 2013. Baker officially accepted and signed the team's tender on April 10. He recorded his first career sack on Jay Cutler in the Week 7 win against the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
. Set to become a restricted free agent again for the 2014 season, the Redskins announced they had re-signed Baker to a three-year deal worth $12 million, with $4 million guaranteed. He would switch from the starting left defensive end position to the nose tackle position after starter
Barry Cofield Barry Joseph Cofield, Jr. (born March 19, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Giants in the 2006 NFL Draft and has ...
was placed on short-term injured reserve. During a game against the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on September 21, 2014, Baker hit Eagles quarterback Nick Foles following an interception (which eventually was reversed) by Foles. Foles was jogging towards the player who had intercepted his pass when Baker made a hard block on Foles. Following the hit, a brawl broke out on the sidelines between both teams. Baker was confronted by Eagles
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...
Jason Peters with Baker clamping the face mask of Peters in retaliation and with Peters taking a swing at Baker which resulted in both players getting ejected in the scuffle. After the game, Baker responded to the incident saying, "I didn't even really hit him hard. I just hit him with my shoulder and he happened to fall. He's the quarterback and I guess that's why there was an ejection." Despite conflicting opinions on whether on the block was legal or not, he was fined $8,268 for the fight with Peters. On October 17, 2014, Baker was fined $10,000 for dragging down Cardinals
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Carson Palmer by the face mask during the Week 6 loss. Baker's gameplay in the
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
surprisingly progressed so much that he beat out new free agent acquisition, Stephen Paea, for the starting left defensive end position. In the Week 4 win against the Eagles, he recorded two sacks on quarterback
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...
, which was his first multi-sack game. At the end of the regular season, he recorded a new career-high of six sacks, which earned him the $280,000 bonus in his contract.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 9, 2017, Baker signed a three-year contract with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
. His contract was worth $15.75 million with $9 million guaranteed. In his lone season with the Buccaneers, Baker recorded 33 tackles and 0.5 sacks. On February 20, 2018, he was released by the Buccaneers after one season.


Cincinnati Bengals

On March 7, 2018, Baker signed a one-year contract with the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
. He was released on August 24, 2018.


Personal life

Baker has been childhood friends with nose tackle Terrance Knighton and Damik Scafe since high school, where the three of them were teammates. Knighton was Baker's best man in his wedding to ESPN talent producer, Jamila Phillips, on March 14, 2015. On January 7, 2016, Baker's first child, Aria, was born. He suffered a stroke in January 2023, but survived.


Legal issues

While attending Penn State, Baker was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty two cases of assault on May 16, 2008.


References


External links

*
Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioWashington Redskins bioHampton Pirates bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Chris 1987 births Living people People from Windsor, Connecticut American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Penn State Nittany Lions football players Hampton Pirates football players Denver Broncos players Hartford Colonials players Miami Dolphins players Washington Redskins players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Cincinnati Bengals players