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Giants cornerback Deandre Baker warms up prior to the start of...

Giants cornerback Deandre Baker warms up prior to the start of a preseason game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday. Credit: Daniel De Mato

The Giants waived DeAndre Baker on Tuesday, cutting ties with the cornerback they drafted with a first-round pick just 16 months ago while he awaits trial for four felony charges of armed robbery in Florida.

Baker was not going to play for the Giants this season while he awaited his legal fate and his next court date in January. He had been on the commissioners exempt list and did not count toward the team’s roster limits. But having him on the roster in any form meant the Giants would have to pay him for the 2020 season. Tuesday’s move removes that burden.

Baker was scheduled to earn $973,442 in 2020. Had he remained on the roster beyond Tuesday he would have been owed $57,261 each of the 17 regular-season weeks.

The Giants are also likely to go after some of the rest of the guaranteed salary and bonus that Baker’s four-year, $10.5 million contract has, claiming his violation of the personal conduct policy should void the deal. Teams rarely win such cases.

Giants co-owner John Mara said last week that the charges against Baker were something they “did not see coming” when evaluating him before the draft.

“I know I’ve read some stories saying there were red flags about him, but not in the sense that you would be concerned about criminal conduct at all,” Mara said. “Obviously it’s something that’s embarrassing to the organization, it’s something that we’re going to deal with.”

Baker would face a minimum of 10 years to life in prison if he is convicted of the charges against him from a May 13 incident.

Baker was expected to start at cornerback this season. He played in all 16 games and started 15 as a rookie in 2019.

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