After the New England Patriots used a fourth-round pick on Javon Baker in the 2024 NFL Draft, the former Alabama wide receiver told fans: “Just come to the home stadium and bring y’all popcorn. That’s all I can tell y’all. Bring your popcorn. I make people in wheelchairs stand up.”
But as a rookie, Baker had one reception and three kickoff returns while appearing for 90 offensive snaps and 28 special-teams plays in 11 games.
That has left Baker with something to prove to New England’s new coaching staff: That he can help the Patriots in 2025, placing Baker among the hundreds of players in the NFL who have less than two weeks remaining to demonstrate that.
Preseason rosters contain 90 players. But at 3 p.m. CDT Aug. 26, each team will have no more than 53 active players.
New England has 11 wide receivers on its preseason roster. Most NFL teams carry no more than six on the regular-season active roster.
Baker will get another opportunity to show what he can do in the Patriots’ second preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. Baker did not catch a pass during his 26 offensive snaps in the preseason opener, a 48-18 victory over the Washington Commanders on Friday.
But he still helped his chances of making the team. On the field for six special-teams plays, Baker made solo tackles on a first-quarter kickoff and a second-quarter punt.
“I think that that’s fantastic,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “When you have players, especially receivers, that can create a role and they can help you and they can be big and physical and everything that we see out of Javon as a receiver, when you can embrace that and they can embrace that as special-teams players, guys that are big and physical and fast and willing, that translates to special teams. So excited and just happy for Javon just being able to go out there and contribute, and when you do those things, your teammates get excited. Hopefully, his confidence continues to grow.”
Baker said “it means a lot” for the coach to take note of his contributions beyond wide receiver.
“Coach Vrabel, he kind of hands-on,” Baker said. “So I like that as a player – a coach that’ll tell you when you’re doing right and a coach that’ll tell you when you’re doing wrong.”
Baker said covering kicks and punts wasn’t part of his football background.
“If they put me out there, if they say go to special teams, go to kicker or whatever, I’m going to do what they want me to do,” Baker said.
Baker is due to be paid $960,000 for the 2025 season. But he needs to be an active-roster player to draw that salary. As he strives to reach that goal, Baker has dropped the “popcorn” talk.
“I feel like I’m doing good, progressing every day,” Baker said this week. “Getting to know the offense better each and every day and then whatever happens after that, happens after that.”
Baker played at Alabama in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, when he had nine receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown. After transferring to UCF, Baker had 108 receptions for 1,935 yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The Alabama Game of the Week is the Cleveland Browns-Philadelphia Eagles contest on Saturday. The teams’ active rosters include 27 players from Alabama high schools and colleges.
The Week 2 preseason schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from BetMGM):
Friday
Tennessee Titans (-5.5) at Atlanta Falcons, 6 p.m. (NFL Network, WBRC, WTBM 24.2, WAFF 48.3, WTVY)
Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks (-2.5), 9 p.m. (NFL Network)
Saturday
Miami Dolphins (-3.5) at Detroit Lions, noon
Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans (-2.5), noon
Green Bay Packers at Indianapolis Colts (-6), noon
New England Patriots (-2.5) at Minnesota Vikings, noon
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5), noon (NFL Network)
San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders (-4.5), 3:05 p.m. (NFL Network)
Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) at Dallas Cowboys, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers (-4) at Los Angeles Rams, 6 p.m.
New York Jets at New York Giants (-3.5), 6 p.m. (NFL Network)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6 p.m. (WKRG, WMBB)
Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos (-5.5), 8:30 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday
Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5) at New Orleans Saints, noon (NFL Network, WALA, WBRC, WBDD, WTTO, WTBM 24.2, WTVY 4.2)
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears (-2.5), 7 p.m. (FOX)
Monday
Cincinnati Bengals (-4.5) at Washington Commanders, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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