Teams interested in trading for Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker might not have to give prime assets up in exchange, according to an NFL executive cited by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
The exec, who works for a team in the NFC, reckons the Cardinals might have difficulty landing a first-round pick in any trade scenario involving the defensive star. Breer’s source pointed to the trades involving Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jamal Adams which saw first-round picks go the other way, noting that the aforementioned players are younger than Baker and had a bit more security where their contracts were concerned.
“He’s still a high-level player,” the exec was quoted as saying. “There’s minimal trade precedent at the position; the Jamal Adams trade to Seattle and Minkah [Fitzpatrick] trade to Pittsburgh are most applicable, both involved 1s [draft picks]. But both players were younger and under contract. You’d think, given the contract issue and positional value, scheme fit, it’d be a second or third for him.”
Baker, a five-time Pro Bowler, is set to make $13.1 million next season while there’s also a $14.2 million team option for the following season.
Adams had two seasons on his rookie deal with the New York Jets when they traded him to the Seattle Seahawks, so it’s not all that different from Baker’s situation. But there was talk of the Seahawks overpaying for the player as they included a pair of first-rounders. He also signed a four-year extension worth $70.6 million in 2021 that he hasn’t quite lived up to.
This could have some bearing on any trade involving Baker as extension costs would need to be taken into consideration.
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The safety could end up remaining in Arizona as, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, he could agree to an extension as long as it makes him the league’s highest-paid player in his position.
