Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Buccaneers are releasing veteran DT Chris Baker on Tuesday.
There had been talk that Baker was likely to be a release candidate this offseason for some time now, so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise.
Earlier in the day, the Buccaneers released RB Doug Martin (NFLTR).
Baker, 30, originally signed on with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Hampton back in 2009. He lasted just over a year in Denver before he was waived and later signed to the Dolphins practice squad.
After Miami cut him loose at the start of the 2011 season, Baker signed on to the Redskins’ taxi squad and spent the next five years in Washington. The Buccaneers elected to sign Baker to a three-year, $15.75 million contract that included $9 million guaranteed last offseason and he was set to make base salaries of $4.87 million over the final two years of the agreement.
According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Baker will free up $4,875,000 of available cap space while creating no dead money.
In 2017, Baker appeared in 15 games for the Buccaneers and recorded 33 tackles, a half sack and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 96 interior defensive lineman out of 122 qualifying players.
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