Jerome Baker (American football)

Jerome Baker (born December 25, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State.

Jerome Baker
No. 55 – Miami Dolphins
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1996-12-25) December 25, 1996
Cleveland, Ohio
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Cleveland (OH) Benedictine
College:Ohio State
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 73
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:205
Sacks:4.5
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:0
Interceptions:2
Pass deflections:7
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Baker attended Benedictine High School in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] He was a member of the 2014 State Championship football team while at Benedictine[2] and was considered the #2 recruit in the state of Ohio for the class of 2015.[3] He originally committed to the University of Florida to play college football but changed his commitment to The Ohio State University.[4][5]

College career

Baker played at Ohio State from 2015 to 2017.[6][7] After his junior season in 2017, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[8][9] During his career, he had 159 tackles, seven sacks, and two interceptions.[10]

Professional career

On January 8, 2018, Baker released a statement on his Twitter account announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[11] Baker attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. On March 22, 2018, he participated at Ohio State's pro day and performed the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and positional drills. Baker attended pre-draft visits with the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and Jacksonville Jaguars.[12] After the pre-draft process, Baker was projected to be a third or fourth-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the seventh-best linebacker in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the seventh-best outside linebacker by Scouts Inc., and was ranked the 12th best outside linebacker by DraftScout.com.[13][14][15]

External video
Jerome Baker's NFL Combine Workout
Jerome Baker's 40-yard dash
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1 1⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		 229 lb
(104 kg)		 31 1⁄2 in
(0.80 m)		 10 3⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.53 s 1.62 s 2.68 s 4.15 s 6.93 s 36 1⁄2 in
(0.93 m)		 10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL CombineOhio State's Pro Day[16]

The Miami Dolphins selected Baker in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Baker was the 10th linebacker drafted in 2018.[17] He was reunited with former Ohio State teammate Raekwon McMillan.

External video
Dolphins draft Jerome Baker 73rd overall

2018

On June 2, 2018, the Miami Dolphins signed Baker to a four-year, $3.80 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $975,200.[18] Throughout training camp, Baker competed to be the starting strongside linebacker after the role was left vacant by the departure of Lawrence Timmons. Baker competed against Mike Hull, Stephone Anthony, Chase Allen, and Quentin Poling.[19] Head coach Adam Gase named Baker and Kiko Alonso the starting outside linebackers to begin the regular season. They started alongside middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan.[20]

He made his professional regular-season debut and the first career start in the Miami Dolphins’ season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and made six combined tackles during their 27–20 victory. In Week 4, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solos) as the Dolphins list 38–7 at the New England Patriots. The following week, he recorded seven combined tackles and made two sacks during a 27–17 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.[21] On November 4, 2018, Baker made five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception during the Dolphins’ 13–6 win against the New York Jets in Week 9.[22] He finished his rookie season in 2018 with 79 combined tackles (57 solos), three pass deflections, three sacks, one interception, and one touchdown in 16 games and 11 stars. Baker earned an overall grade of 70.3 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 29th best grade among all qualified linebackers in 2018.[23]

2019

In week 2 against the New England Patriots, Baker recorded a team high 12 tackles as the Dolphins lost 43–0.[24] In week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts, Baker recorded a team high 8 tackles and one sack on Brian Hoyer in the 16–12 win.[25] In week 15 against the New York Giants, Baker recorded a team high 12 tackles and intercepted a pass thrown by Eli Manning during the 36–20 loss.[26]

2020

Baker was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Dolphins on July 31, 2020,[27] and activated from the list three days later.[28]

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References
  1. "Ohio State LB, former Benedictine star Jerome Baker declares for 2018 NFL Draft". WKYC. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. "Benedictine football wins Division IV state championship with 21-14 victory over Kettering Archbishop Alter". cleveland.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  3. "ESPN Football Recruiting - Player Rankings - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  4. "How Benedictine's Jerome Baker told Ohio State's Urban Meyer 'No,' and why it turned to 'Yes': Buckeyes recruiting". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. "The top recruit in Ohio flipped his commitment from Florida to Ohio State". SI.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. "The 'real Baker' should be improved in second year as Ohio State starter". My Dayton Daily News. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  7. Rabinowitz, Bill. "Ohio State football". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  8. "OSU's Baker skipping senior year to enter draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  9. May, Tim. "Jerome Baker declares for NFL draft". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. "Jerome Baker College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  11. "Ohio State's Jerome Baker entering NFL draft". news-herald.com. January 8, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  12. Hope, Dan (April 6, 2018). "Jerome Baker Reportedly Visits San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Jacksonville Jaguars". elevenwarriors.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  13. "*Jerome Baker, DS #12 OLB, Ohio State". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  14. "NFL Jerome Baker-ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  15. "The 2018 NFL Draft Big Board, Vol. 2". si.com. March 7, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  16. "NFL Draft Profile: Jerome Baker". National Football League. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  17. "Miami Dolphins 2018 draft results: Third round selection is Jerome Baker". ThePhinsider.com. April 27, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  18. "Spotrac.com: Jerome Baker contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  19. "Dolphins rookie LB Jerome Baker says you won't think he's small once he hits you". dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com. May 12, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  20. "Miami Dolphins reveal regular-season depth chart and we learned this". PalmBeachPost.com. September 4, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  21. "Dolphins' Jerome Baker's Ohio homecoming dampened despite hitting a milestone". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  22. "NFL Player stats: Jerome Baker (2018)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  23. "Pro Football Focus: Jerome Baker". ProFootballFocus.com. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  24. "Newcomer Brown scores as Patriots beat Dolphins 43-0". www.espn.com. September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  25. "Dolphins cash in on Colts turnovers, earn 2nd straight win". www.espn.com. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  26. "Manning throws 2 TDs, Barkley scores 2, Giants end long skid". www.espn.com. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  27. Schad, Joe (July 31, 2020). "Miami Dolphins' Jerome Baker goes on COVID-19 list". PalmBeachPost.com. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  28. "Dolphins Activate Jerome Baker, Awarded Picasso Nelson Jr". MiamiDolphins.com. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
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