Getty Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and GM Andrew Berry
The Cleveland Browns are building toward a resurgent year in 2023 and a perennial All-Pro piece on defense just made himself available.
Five-time Pro-Bowl safety Budda Baker requested a trade from the Arizona Cardinals back in February, news that wasn’t public until ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported it via Twitter on Friday, April 14.
Team source: Budda Baker informed the Cardinals in February that he wanted to be traded or receive a new deal to make him the highest-paid safety.
“Team source: Budda Baker informed the Cardinals in February that he wanted to be traded or receive a new deal to make him the highest-paid safety,” Schefter wrote.
Baker still has two years remaining on his current contract, a four-year deal worth a total of $59 million. The Cardinals have not moved to act on Baker’s request to make him the wealthiest safety in the NFL, and a team source leaking the news to Schefter months after Baker’s initial ask indicates that the safety is on the trade market for the right price.
If that is the case, the Browns front office needs to at least inquire about what it would take to bring Baker to Cleveland.
Browns Still Have Needs in Secondary Ahead of 2023 Season
Getty imagesThe Cleveland Browns released safety John Johnson III in March of 2023.
The Browns aren’t among the obvious candidates for Baker due to a handful of circumstances.
Cleveland released former safety John Johnson III in March and could use some help in the secondary. However, the team’s recent signing of former Kansas City Chiefs free safety Juan Thornhill to a three-year deal worth $21 million appears to have filled the starting gap at the position alongside 2019 second-round draft pick Grant Delpit.
That said, Delpit is under contract for just one more season at a manageable salary cap hit of less than $2.4 million. The Browns are thin behind Delpit and Thornhill, with Bubba Bolden (zero professional starts) and D’Anthony Bell (two NFL starts) as the only other safeties currently on the roster.
Cleveland began investing heavily in a five-year window last offseason when the team inked controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson to a $230 million fully-guaranteed contract. If ever there was a time to go all-in it’s now, after the franchise forfeited the first year of said window due to the NFL’s 11-game suspension of Watson for his prior off-field conduct.
Salary Cap Could Get in Way of Browns Pursuing Trade For Baker
Getty ImagesSafety Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals reacts to a call during a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on November 19, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
The Browns famously surrendered some massive downfield plays that cost the team wins in 2022 due to coverage breakdowns. As such, safety is one area where Cleveland can still improve considerably.
Pro Football Focus ranked Thornhill the 20th-best safety out of 88 players who qualified at the position last season with an overall grade of 72.7, while Delpit was ranked 54th with a grade of 63.6 in his third professional campaign.
However, Cleveland currently has just $7.8 million in salary cap space for next year, which makes adding Baker a difficult proposition. Field Yates of ESPN took to Twitter Friday to lay out what any team trading for Baker would be taking on financially.
“If a team were to trade for Budda Baker, here is what he is currently owed on his contract — 2023: $13.096M; 2024: 14.2M,” Yates wrote. “Baker is one of the more unique defensive players in the league given his versatility and on-ball production.”