Arizona Cardinals All-Pro safety Budda Baker has requested a trade according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on April 14. Now, Kansas City Chiefs fans are calling for their team to make a move for the versatile defender.
“Gimme this mfer,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Budda Baker would be far more impactful to the long term success of the Chiefs than another WR,” another user wrote.
“Man I want budda baker so bad if he was traded to chiefs he make chiefs defense way better,” another user wrote.
@ChiefsBoogie Man I want budda baker so bad if he was traded to chiefs he make chiefs defense way better
“Imagine Budda baker in a chiefs uniform,” another user wrote.
Imagine Budda baker in a chiefs uniform 😍
Budda Baker: Pay Me or Trade Me
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via a 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.
The highest-paid safety in the NFL in terms of average annual value (AAV) is Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin James, who signed a four-year, $76 million extension in 2022. That puts his AAV at $19 million according to Over The Cap.
The Cardinals currently have $20 million in available cap space, which gives them the room needed to offer Baker a top-of-the-market deal while remaining salary cap-compliant (at least for 2023). However, Ian Rapoport reporting that Baker wants to be traded seemingly shows that Arizona doesn’t have an interest in giving Baker a top-of-the-market deal.
Baker, 27, was a second-round pick by the Cardinals in 2017. Since then, he has been named a Pro Bowler five times and an All-Pro twice. During his six-year career, he has accumulated 494 tackles, 190 stops, 63 total QB pressures (46 QB hurries, 9 sacks, 8 QB hits), 7 interceptions, and 6 forced fumbles according to PFF.
Baker still has two years remaining on his four-year, $59 million deal with Arizona. He will be paid a base salary of $13 million in 2023 and $14.2 million in 2024 according to Spotrac. He also has cap hits of $16.8 million and $17.9 million for those seasons respectively.
Is Budda Baker a Fit for Chiefs?
From a pure football standpoint, Budda Baker would be an ideal fit for Kansas City’s defense. As a defender that can play as a free safety, in the box, in the slot, and out wide as a corner, Baker fits the mold of a versatile defender that would flourish in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.
But we can’t just talk about the football aspect of this kind of move.
From a trade package standpoint, finding the proper trade compensation to acquire Baker from the Cardinals likely wouldn’t be too difficult.
However, agreeing upon a contract extension with Baker would be extremely difficult for the Chiefs.
During the 2022 offseason, the Chiefs let safety Tyrann Mathieu walk after a Pro Bowl season and according to Mathieu, the team didn’t even offer him a contract. So, expecting Kansas City to make Baker — who is two years younger than Mathieu was in 2022 but wants a top-of-the-market deal — the highest-paid safety in the NFL doesn’t seem to fall in line with the organization’s strategy. Let alone the fact that the defending Super Bowl champions only have $4.3 million in available cap space.
The Chiefs already paid safety Justin Reid $31.5 million in his contract during the 2022 offseason. So, the team is better off rolling with cheaper options that are already on the roster to fill the other safety position, such as 2022 second-round pick Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards, and Deon Bush.
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Fans Calling for Chiefs to Trade for Disgruntled All-Pro: ‘Gimme This MFer’