Getty Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker reacts after a defensive stop.
Arizona Cardinals star Budda Baker wasn’t on the practice field when mandatory minicamp started up on June 13. True to his word, the All-Pro safety was in the building as he waits for the organization to meet his demand for a lucrative contract extension. Time will tell what happens.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters that Baker was “working through some things” that were business-related. Remember, Baker informed the Cardinals in February that he wanted to be traded after negotiations stalled. Then, after skipping voluntary workouts in late May, Baker promised he would show up with a “smile on his face” for mandatory minicamp and training camp. Technically, yes, Baker is there.
“It was good to have him in the building today. He had a smile on his face,” Gannon told reporters, via Arizona Sports. “He’s not on the field — he’s working through some things. I’ve had really good conversations with him, the dialogue has been great and I’m ready to get No. 3 back out there.”
NFL Network Analyst Offers Context on Contract
Gannon has been known to bend the truth at times so (maybe?) don’t take him at his word. It’s entirely plausible that the two had a good conversation and the contract situation will work itself out before training camp. Or, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport put out there, Baker could be just saying and doing all the right things to avoid racking up fines.
The Cardinals could collect $98,000 if the Pro Bowler boycotted all three days of the mandatory minicamp. Rapoport provided perspective:
“I don’t know if he’s going to be on the field or not, I just think the fact that he’s there in the building prevents him from getting fined,” Rapoport said. “Basically, what Budda Baker is doing is what we’ve seen players across the league do today; if you are not that thrilled with your current situation, and I would put Budda Baker in that category considering he has requested a trade, really going back several months, from the Arizona Cardinals. Even though he is a locker room leader and one of their best players, he made clear his dissatisfaction based on the trade request. He’s not going to get fined. He is there. That is what we know now. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
Eagles Remain Heavily Linked to Budda Baker
The Eagles are still considered the top trade destination for Budda Baker. He has been blatantly lobbying to get to Philadelphia dating back to his April comments about Nick Sirianni. The five-time Pro Bowler has also been linked to the Eagles in several different trade scenarios, from wishful proposals without sources to plugged-in reports with credibility. There is too much smoke billowing around Baker not to think the Eagles aren’t at least checking in.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was one of the first to put Baker in a midnight green jersey. This is what he said on SportsCenter (via Sportsnaut): “People I’ve talked to around the league are at least looking to Philadelphia because they have a need at safety with C.J. Gardner-Johnson leaving in free agency, but my understanding is they don’t have a lot of money to spend because they signed other players, so it could be tough.”
