The Cardinals’ 2023 offseason included a Budda Baker trade request which lasted for months. The Pro Bowl safety ultimately worked out short-term resolution to his contract status, but he remains a pending free agent. 
Baker saw his 2023 earnings bumped up via incentives as a result of the deal reached last summer. He is now due $14.6MM this season while carrying a cap hit of just over $19MM. If the 28-year-old has his way, he will remain in the desert for the foreseeable future.
“Me being here seven years, this’ll be Year 8, of course you would love to be on a football team that you got drafted to,” Baker said (via Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports). “I know it’s the not the same GM or it’s not the same head coach, but I understand if I continue to do my job at a high level – this is our fourth coaching staff and I’m still on the team – it shows what type of character I have and what kind of work ethic I put onto the field no matter what.”
Baker originally inked a four-year, $59MM pact in 2020. Even with his revised agreement slightly lowering his AAV to $14.1MM, that figure ranks seventh in the league amongst safeties. The position has taken a financial hit this offseason, with a number of accomplished producers being released in the lead-in to free agency. The former second-rounder missed five games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, but he still managed to receive a fifth consecutive Pro Bowl nod, the sixth of his career.
That could help his leverage in contract talks, whether they take place this summer or closer to free agency. Baker is positioned to remain a starter on the backend along with Jalen Thompson in 2024, and their collective play will go a long way in determining Arizona’s defensive success. The team did add Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the fourth round of the draft as a developmental option at safety and/or the slot, and his play as a rookie will be worth watching.
As Baker noted, the Cardinals have a different regime in place (general manager Monti Ossenfort, head coach Jonathan Gannon) in place than when he first signed his extension. Those two are tasked with overseeing the team’s rebuild, and a step forward from last season’s 4-13 record will be a target in 2024. A healthy and productive campaign from Baker would help in that regard as he prepares for what could be his final Arizona season.
“A lot of people think about the money. Some players might think, ‘Contract year, I gotta do extra.’ I treat every single year like a contract year,” the Washington alum added. “For me, I’m an honest believer in controlling what I can control and do my job. At the end of the day, everything else will take care of itself.”
4th coaching staff in 8 years & only asked once for a trade? Sounds like a team player to me. Lock him up redbirds.
NASCAR just hasn’t been the same since Baker left…lol.