[4] In addition to his three-year stint at Derby County, Baird previously played for Southampton, Fulham, Reading, Burnley and West Bromwich Albion.

[8] Baird made his debut for Southampton on 22 March 2003 as a late substitute for David Prutton in a 2–2 draw at home to Aston Villa.

[15] Baird's regular playing time in the first team saw him extend his loan spell at Walsall for another month, leading manager Colin Lee to unsuccessfully try to sign him for £1 million.

[17] After his loan spell at Walsall came to an end, Baird made his first Southampton appearance of the 2003–04 season, in a 3–1 win over local rivals Portsmouth on 21 December 2003.

[26] As a result, Baird's lack of first opportunities frustrated him[27] and was planned on re-joining Watford on loan, only to be blocked by Harry Redknapp.

[29] After Redknapp's departure to Portsmouth, Baird made his first Southampton appearance in two years in a 1–0 win over Luton Town on 11 December 2005.

[31] In the first game of the 2006–07 season, away to Derby County on 6 August 2006, he was drafted into the centre half position when Claus Lundekvam went off injured in the sixth minute.

[34] During the match in a 4–3 win over against Birmingham City on 29 November 2006,[35] Baird find himself in alteration with goalkeeper Kelvin Davis after the pair shoved each other and the tension were so high that teammates got involved to calm the situation.

[5] Baird left Southampton on 12 July 2007 to move to Premier League club Fulham for £3.025 million, where he linked up with manager Lawrie Sanchez.

[49] Weeks later on 25 August 2007, Baird was sent–off after receiving a second bookable offence, in a 2–1 loss against Aston Villa and served a suspension in the second round in the League Cup against Shrewsbury Town.

[50] However, Baird struggled to make a first team breakthrough, due to injuries and was fell out favour for the remainder of the season, under Manager Roy Hodgson.

Due to lack of first team opportunity, Baird was linked with a move to Scottish Premier League side Rangers.

Although typically a centre-back, and often surplus to requirements behind the rarely injured pairing of Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland, manager Roy Hodgson brought out a versatility in Baird which made him indispensable for long periods at Fulham,[52] where first he filled in very successfully at right-back when John Paintsil was injured, and then due to the injuries to Dickson Etuhu and Danny Murphy he was often used in a central midfield role during the 2009–10 season,[53] returning to right-back when they regained fitness.

[54] His success at right-back also earned him a start in the UEFA Europa League against Atlético Madrid ahead of the fit-again Paintsil.

In the 2010–11 season, Baird remained on the substitute for the first three matches, with Panstil regaining his first team place as a right–back, under new manager Mark Hughes.

[63] Despite making nineteen appearances for the club in the 2011–12 season, Baird dismissed claims he heading for an exit and expressed desire to fight for his first team place.

[68] Despite training with QPR for two weeks and receiving a contract offer, Baird signed for Reading on 20 September 2013 on a deal until January 2014.

[78] At the end of the 2013–14 season, Baird went on to make seven appearances, as he played a little role of helping Burnley reaching promotion to the Premier League.

[81] Baird made his West Brom debut, coming on as a substitute for Chris Brunt in the 77th minute, in the opening game of the season, with a 2–2 draw against Sunderland.

[95] After making his first team return against MK Dons on 26 September 2015,[96] Baird was dropped to the substitute bench and played six times between October and December.

[102] Baird then made his Fulham debut two days later, playing forty–five minutes after coming on as a substitute, in a 3–0 win over Charlton Athletic.

[104] After missing three matches, Baird then made his return to the first team the following month on 9 April 2016, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute, in a 2–1 win over Cardiff City.

[109] On 3 June 2003, Baird made his Northern Ireland début against Italy in a 2–0 defeat,[110] becoming a regular member of the national side, despite playing little domestically between 2003 and 2005.