Matt Baker (American football)
Encyclopedia
Matthew David Baker is an American football
quarterback
who is a currently a free agent
. He was signed by the Houston Texans
as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football
at North Carolina
.
Baker has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys
, New Orleans Saints
, Arizona Cardinals
and Miami Dolphins
.
. His high school accolades include:
in passing and led North Carolina to a 5-6 record during his senior year. He graduated from the University of North Carolina
with an economics degree and also became a brother of the Sigma Chi
fraternity.
following the 2006 NFL Draft
with the Houston Texans
.
practice squad in 2006-2007 serving as the teams third quarterback. He was released from the Dallas Cowboys July 26, 2007.
practice squad on October 24, 2007.
on January 30, 2008, but was waived after the Dolphins drafted Chad Henne
in the 2008 NFL Draft
.
on May 1, 2008. He was waived/injured on August 26 and subsequently placed on injured reserve
. Following the season, he became an exclusive-rights free agent.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who is a currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was signed by the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at North Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels football
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in collegiate level football. In Carolina’s first 121 seasons of football competition, the Tar Heels have compiled a record of 646–488–54, a winning percentage of .566...
.
Baker has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Baker attended Brother Rice High SchoolBrother Rice High School (Michigan)
Brother Rice High School is a Roman Catholic all-boys non-residential college prep school with approximately 700 students located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan . Until 1993 its address was in neighboring Birmingham, Michigan's postal district. In 1993 the U.S...
. His high school accolades include:
- Three year letterVarsity letterA varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
winner in football and lacrosseLacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh... - Led his football team to the state championship and a 12-1 record as a senior
- All-State Dream Team and Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
in football - Two time All-State and All-Midwest in lacrosse
- 2001 Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Association Player of the Year
- 2001 Lacrosse All-American.
College career
Baker was fourth in ACCAtlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
in passing and led North Carolina to a 5-6 record during his senior year. He graduated from the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
with an economics degree and also became a brother of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
fraternity.
Houston Texans
Baker signed as a free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
following the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
with the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Dallas Cowboys
He was a member of the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
practice squad in 2006-2007 serving as the teams third quarterback. He was released from the Dallas Cowboys July 26, 2007.
Arizona Cardinals
Baker was re-signed to the Arizona CardinalsArizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
practice squad on October 24, 2007.
Miami Dolphins
Baker was signed by the Miami DolphinsMiami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on January 30, 2008, but was waived after the Dolphins drafted Chad Henne
Chad Henne
Chad Steven Henne is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.He graduated from Wilson Senior High School and attended the University of Michigan...
in the 2008 NFL Draft
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
.
Buffalo Bills
Baker was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on May 1, 2008. He was waived/injured on August 26 and subsequently placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
. Following the season, he became an exclusive-rights free agent.