Rashad Baker

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 was also a member of the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders.

Early life and college career Born in Camden, New Jersey, Baker attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden. 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. 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. With Tennessee, Baker started 41 of 45 games played and had 233 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 24 passes deflected.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills A projected sixth-round pick for the 2004 NFL draft, In 2005, Baker had 18 tackles, 1 pass deflected, and 1 interception returned for 18 yards. Baker played one game as a reserve for the Vikings on October 1 and was released on November 4.

New England Patriots Baker was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on November 7, 2006.

Philadelphia Eagles Baker signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 11, 2009. He was released on August 18.

Oakland Raiders (second stint) Baker 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 Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions G GS Comb Total Ast Sack FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2004 BUF 14 03 22 13 9 0.0 1 0 0 1 26 26 26 0 2 2005 BUF 10 00 5 1 4 1.0 0 0 0 1 18 18 18 0 2 2006 MIN/NE 06 00 2 1 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2007 NE 08 00 12 9 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2008 BAL 10 01 24 21 3 0.0 0 0 0 3 8 2.7 8 0 4Career 52 4 78 57 21 1.5 1 0 0 5 52 10.4 26 0 8