The New York Giants have fixed most of their problems this offseason, but that doesn’t mean the team is done looking for reinforcements. Especially if one of those potential new recruits is a five-time Pro-Bowler and two-time first-team All Pro.
Those credentials belong to free safety Budda Baker, who wants out of the Arizona Cardinals. Fortunately, the Giants “fit the bill” as a trade candidate, according to Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay.
He believes the Giants “still need to bolster the safety position after losing Julian Love in free agency.” Love joined the Seattle Seahawks, leaving Big Blue searching for an able partner for Xavier McKinney along the last line of defense.
Baker wouldn’t be cheap, but Kay thinks “a Day 2 pick—a selection the rebuilding Cardinals should be keen to accept” could get a deal done. That fits with what MMQB’s Albert Breer reported on April 17 about his conversation with an unnamed executive from within the NFC, who gauged Baker would only fetch either a second- or third-round pick this year.
Offering a prime selection in the 2024 NFL draft would be just the start of the Giants paying a premium for Baker, but general manager Joe Schoen recently freed up some cash by agreeing a restructured contract with All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II.
Blockbuster Trade a Pricey Option for Giants
Baker is set to count for $16,871,359 against this year’s salary cap, per Spotrac.com. It’s a hefty figure the Giants would need to rework as part of any trade, but as ESPN’s Jordan Raanan detailed, there’s more money than expected available after Lawrence’s deal.
Raanan’s reference to the Giants already securing the bulk of their rookie class for this season is more good news for a potential trade. Especially since coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale’s defense still looks thin at safety.
Martindale would make full use of Baker’s wide range of skills.
Decorated Safety Perfect for Giants’ Defense
Versatile enough to play either safety spot, there isn’t much Baker can’t do well on a football field. That includes applying pressure on the blitz, like for this sack of Matt Ryan last season, highlighted by Andy Kwong of SB Nation’s Revenge of the Birds.
We are now THREE days away from the 2022 #NFLDraft
Here’s #AZCardinals No. 3 Budda Baker with the sack! Watch him fly to watch him work. No Fear!
Baker’s ability to accelerate and attack downhill will surely appeal to Martindale. He’s perhaps the most blitz-happy play-caller in the league, evidenced by the Giants blitzing an NFL-high 39.7 percent of the time last season, per Pro Football Reference.
Giants’ safeties accounted for 4.5 of the team’s 41 sacks in 2022, so it’s easy to see how quickly Baker would become an asset in Martindale’s pressure packages. The Cards’ star would also give the Giants a ball hawk on the back end.
Allowing 7.1 yards per target last season, as well as a quarterback rating of just 73.4 in 2021, is proof of Baker’s competence in coverage. So is this interception against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos from Week 15.
Budda! #BirdCityFootball
📺: #AZvsDEN on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/W6A4BDcRnV
Plays like this are why the Giants should at least explore making a trade for Baker happen. He’s the kind of dynamic playmaker the team lacks at the position, even with McKinney still on the roster.
The problem is the rest of the depth chart is lacking experience, with second-year man Dane Belton and 2023 seventh-round pick Gervarrius Owens among the other options. Veteran Bobby McCain arrived from NFC East rivals the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason, but the eight-year veteran can’t match Baker’s range and big-play skills.
Engineering one more headline move, to go with re-signing Lawrence, QB Daniel Jones and trading for Pro-Bowl tight end Darren Waller, would complete a special offseason for the Giants.
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Giants ‘Fit the Bill’ to Trade for 5-Time Pro Bowler