Where Are They Now: Josh Baker

Most anyone who has ever caught a pass, made a tackle, or even shanked a punt, dreamed of being drafted by an NFL team.

However, prospects who are chosen coming out of college have no say in where they’re going. And there have been times when the marriage is doomed from the vows.

Granted, their contracts aren’t as lucrative, but undrafted free agents have choices. And in 2011, Northwest Missouri State tight end Josh Baker said, ‘I do’ to the Jets’ proposal.

“It was an interesting time because when I came out, they were negotiating the CBA. And coming out of that negotiation, there was no rookie minicamp,” Baker said. “So after the Draft, there was basically kind of a dead period which I think maybe worked to my advantage. The Jets and two other teams invited me to their training camp.

“The Jets (offer was) actually the least amount from a monetary perspective, but when I broke down the roster, who’s the tight end, who’s the fullback, what kind of system, my dad was helping me run through the situation and it just ended up the Jets were the highest likelihood we felt like I had a good chance.”

They were right. Whittling the list down to the Jets paid off when Baker, despite being the ‘new kid in school,’ felt at home from the beginning.

“All the guys, they were pretty welcoming,” Baker said. “And it was interesting. It’s like you wait your whole life for the moment. You show up. You don’t know anybody. It’s almost like being a freshman at college all over, but with way more pressure.”

That’s the pressure of learning the playbook, performing well, impressing the coaches, and not having conversations with the Turk on cut-down days. But as Baker discovered, along with pressure came having to expect the unexpected. Even when you don’t want to.

“Every day I showed up on the cuts and my name was on the locker,” Baker said. “And then I make the last cut. You have excitement. You meet with management. They said…