The Arizona Cardinals gave the 49ers a scare on Sunday, as their offense scored enough down the stretch to turn a blowout into a competitive contest.
But the defense rarely mustered resistance throughout the day and could not get a stop on the critical final drive, as Arizona fell, 36-30, to drop to 1-2 on the season.
The Cardinals are now ranked 29th in the NFL in defensive EPA, and a major culprit has been the substandard play of their two stars.
Perennial Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker seemed to be at blame for an 82-yard touchdown pass on Seattle’s first drive in Week 2, and couldn’t bring down the aging Deebo Samuel on a hook-and-ladder 80-yard touchdown on Sunday.
Baker has never been great in coverage, and if he is no longer a heat-seeking missile as a tackler, he is not worth the big bucks.
Meanwhile, edge Josh Sweat has had a negligible impact in three games.
He had no stats on Sunday beyond a costly roughing the passer penalty that allowed the 49ers to score a touchdown on a drive that would have ended in a field goal.
For the season, Sweat has just three tackles and zero sacks following an offseason of chatter that he preferred to be elsewhere following the firing of coach Jonathan Gannon.
Cardinals Should Have Traded Baker, Sweat This Offseason
The Cardinals entered the season with the lowest projected win total in the NFL, and even the rosiest of expectations would have left them far from a true Super Bowl contender.
And yet, GM Monti Ossenfort held on to Sweat and Baker instead of selling high on the pair of aging veterans this offseason.
It sadly made sense, because Ossenfort is in Year 4 of an awful tenure, and needs to win some games to keep his job.
But the lack of long-term foresight is going to set back the organization, as Baker and Sweat won’t garner any sort of legitimate compensation for the Cardinals at the trade deadline if they keep playing this way.
Baker has allowed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 through three games, according to PFF, and is rated 68th out of 89 safeties with a grade of 53.9. He is making $18 million per year, which is fifth among NFL safeties.
Sweat has a PFF grade of 40.3 this season, which is 107th out of 108 edge rushers. His average annual salary of $19.1 million is 23rd among edge rushers.
The Cardinals should be building toward the future, but owner Michael Bidwill’s decision to retain Ossenfort has put the organization in a weird spot, as it tries to win now when the personnel clearly does not dictate that approach.
So Baker and Sweat will play out the string on a non-playoff team, or they will be dealt at the deadline for less compensation than the team could have gotten before the year began.
Either way, the Cardinals lose.
Cardinals Erred Not Trading Budda Baker, Josh Sweat This Offseason