Rashad Steward Baker (born February 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004.
 Baker in December 2007 | |||||||||||||
| No. 26, 28, 32, 27 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | February 22, 1982 Camden, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2004: undrafted | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Baker was also a member of the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders.
Early life and college career
editBorn in Camden, New Jersey, Baker attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden.[1][2] Baker then attended the University of Tennessee. Although Tennessee recruited Baker as a wide receiver, Baker switched to free safety in the fourth game his freshman year; Baker never played as free safety while in high school.[3] Baker started four seasons for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 2000 to 2003 and also ran 110-meter hurdles on the Tennessee track team.[2][3][4] With Tennessee, Baker started 41 of 45 games played and had 233 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 24 passes deflected.[2] Baker made second-team All-SEC honors in 2001 as a sophomore and first-team All-SEC honors as a junior in 2002.[5]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | 30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.45 s | 1.57 s | 2.65 s | 4.15 s | 7.21 s | 36 in (0.91 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 21 reps | |
| All values from NFL Scouting Combine;[6][7] see also scouting report | ||||||||||||
Buffalo Bills
editA projected sixth-round pick for the 2004 NFL draft,[7] Baker was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004 and played for the team through the 2006 season. Baker started 3 games of 14 played in his rookie season 2004 and never started any of 14 games played in 2005. As a rookie, Baker had 22 tackles, 1 pass deflected, 1 interception with a 26-yard return, and 1 forced fumble in 2004.[8] In 2005, Baker had 18 tackles, 1 pass deflected, and 1 interception returned for 18 yards.[1]
Minnesota Vikings
editOn September 2, 2006, the Bills waived Baker. The Minnesota Vikings signed Baker the next day.[9] Baker played one game as a reserve for the Vikings on October 1 and was released on November 4.[9][10]
New England Patriots
editBaker was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on November 7, 2006.[9] He played 5 games with the Patriots in 2006 with 5 tackles.[1] In 2007, Baker played 8 games and had 12 tackles.[1] He was released on December 19, 2007.[9]
Oakland Raiders
editBaker was picked up by the Oakland Raiders off waivers on the same day he was waived by New England. In the 2008 offseason, Baker's jersey number was changed from 28 to 22 to accommodate free agent acquisition Gibril Wilson. He later changed his number to 27. In 2008, Baker played 10 games with 1 start for the Raiders and made 24 tackles, 4 passes deflected, and 3 interceptions.[11]
Philadelphia Eagles
editBaker signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 11, 2009. He was released on August 18.[12][13]
Oakland Raiders (second stint)
editBaker re-signed with the Raiders on August 19, 2009. His number 27 was taken by Jason Horton, so Baker chose number 32. He was released from the Raiders on September 5, 2009.
NFL statistics
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 "Rashad Baker". NFL. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Rashad Baker". Oakland Raiders. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009.
- 1 2 Gaughan, Mark (August 20, 2004). "Undrafted rookie drawing attention at camp". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 22, 2004.
- ↑ "Men's track and field: Rashad Baker". Tennessee Volunteer. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Football: Rashad Baker". Tennessee Volunteers. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Prospect profiles: Rashad Baker". NFL. Archived from the original on June 10, 2004.
- 1 2 "Rashad Baker". NFL Draft Scout. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Rashad Baker 2004 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "Rashad Baker". New England Patriots. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ↑ "NFL Players | Past & Current NFL Players". NFL.com.
- ↑ "Rashad Baker 2008 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ↑ Wulf, Bo (August 18, 2009). "S Baker Released". Philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ↑ Quaintance, Bob (August 18, 2009). "Rashad Baker Released". Bleeding Green Nation. Retrieved October 30, 2023.