Joshua Stevenson Baker (born December 25, 1986) 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 with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. 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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Northwest Missouri State and the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Western Branch High School Western Branch High School is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. Established in 1968, it currently has over 2200 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School. After it was det ...

College career

Baker began his college career at the

in 2005. Although among the team's top

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

players, Baker did not participate in a formal match-up that year. In 2006, he was named the Blue Hens' third string

appearing in ten games in a back-up role primarily on running plays and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Baker recorded one catch for no yards and had a 14-yard

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return ...

. In 2007, Baker was named the second string tight end and ranked sixth on the team in receiving, totaling 20 catches for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. In 2008, Baker was suspended from the team for a year after violating the school's three strike policy which included incidents such as

underage drinking The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

and having a lit candle in his dorm room. Baker went to live with his father in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

where he attended

Collin County Community College Collin College is a public community college district in Texas. Founded in 1985, the district has grown as the county has grown from around 5,000 students in 1986 to more than 58,000 credit and noncredit students. Formerly known as the Coll ...

and worked at an

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...

earning $9.00 an hour, which went toward his community college fees. He also worked with a professional trainer to stay in shape. Delaware retained Baker's athletic scholarship and he returned for his redshirt senior season in 2009. Baker tore multiple knee ligaments in the first quarter of the Blue Hens' first game of the year, ending his season. Baker was denied a

medical redshirt Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and transferred to Division II Northwest Missouri State. Baker had 66 catches for 838 yards and a touchdown, and 3 rushing touchdowns for Missouri in 2010 and was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

' Little All-America Team.

Professional career

New York Jets

The

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

signed Baker 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 is a ...

on July 27, 2011. To meet the roster requirement, Baker was waived by the Jets on September 3. He was signed to the team's practice squad a day later. Baker was called up to the active roster on September 27, 2011 following a season-ending injury to tight end

Jeff Cumberland Jeffrey Lionell Cumberland (born May 2, 1987) is a former American football tight end. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2010. He played college football at Illinois. Early years Cumberland was selected to the Ohi ...

. On December 24, 2011, he caught his first career touchdown against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. In 11 games of 2011, Baker made 3 receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. He also returned 3 punts for 60 return yards. Baker suffered a severe knee injury on August 26, 2012 and was placed on the team's injured reserve list the following day. He was waived by the Jets on February 19, 2013.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker signed 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) NFC South, South divisio ...

on April 1, 2014. He was waived by the Bucs on May 12, 2014.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio

New York Jets bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Josh 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Chesapeake, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football tight ends Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football players Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players New York Jets players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players