The Buccaneers signed DE Chris Baker this last offseason to a 3 year $15,750,00 million contract with $9 million guaranteed. At first, this writer thought, well, we really needed a DE who get after a DT. Then we all started to think well, he did put up good numbers in Washington.
In Washington, Baker was an excellent DE. Playing mostly as a 3-4 DE he put up 6 sacks in 2015 and 3 1/2 in 2016, as well as being an excellent run stopper. Yet this year has been a disaster, with Baker managing just 1/2 a sack all year, and just 23 tackles. These numbers are terrible for the amount of money the Bucs threw at Baker. After last Sunday’s game, Baker was confronted in the locker room by several players, after he smiled when being called offsides on a 4th and goal
For the amount of money we gave Baker, we could have signed a decent DE. Instead, we went into the season with 1 quality edge rusher in Noah Spence. Spence was injured early in the season which left the Bucs with ZERO DE’s that are capable of rushing the passer. This makes me question GM Jason Licht’s decision making, especially after his contract has been renewed for next season.
The Bucs should drop Baker after this season. He’s nothing but a cancer in the locker room.
