Jun 12th 2008 10:15AM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, AFC East, New YorkThere’s no end in sight for the bad feelings between the Jets and Chris Baker. The tight end claims the team promised him a new contract, the team claims they promised him nothing but that he’d be treated fairly and both sides are calcifying into intractable positions.

Baker skipped the voluntary workouts but showed up to last week’s mandatory minicamp. He then claimed he tweaked his back during warmups. That meant he didn’t take part in anything more strenuous than riding the stationary bike and ripping Jets management. Now the Jets have fired back via a $3,000 fine for missing an injury treatment session during minicamp.

Baker’s agent, Jonathan Feinsod, was also Pete Kendall’s agent during last year’s version of this player-team squabble and called the fine petty. It’s similar to when the team placed Kendall in the rookie dorm for training camp last year.
“Chris was fined for allegedly missing a treatment session, just like Pete Kendall allegedly was put in the rookie dorm,” Feinsod said sarcastically.
It’s pretty clear that the Jets have chosen Baker as their line in the sand against players wanting contract renegotiation. Baker’s a fairly invisible cog in the Jets wheel, a role he’s played well, but he isn’t going to create a public outcry about the way he’s being treated. With Kendall and Laveranues Coles, the team felt pressured to make a move one way or the other. That doesn’t seem to be the case this time around.