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The Philadelphia Eagles could be a top trade spot for a notable star.
As proposed by CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo, the Eagles could be one of five top potential destinations for Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker. The 27-year-old star is requesting a trade from the Cardinals, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Cardinals’ Pro-Bowl safety Budda Baker now has requested that Arizona trade him, per source,” said Schefter on Friday, April 14.
Eagles Could Use Top-Caliber Safety Like Budda Baker
As DeArdo notes, the Eagles lost their starting two safeties, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps, from last season. Philadelphia signed two safeties — Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans — with starting experience in free agency. However, neither of those safeties compare to the five-time Pro Bowler.
“The defending NFC champions have some holes to fill after a gut-wrenching free agency,” says DeArdo. “While Edmunds filled one of their holes, the Eagles are still in need of one more starting-caliber safety after losing Marcus Epps and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in free agency. In Philadelphia, Baker would be part of a still-talented Eagles defense that includes fellow defensive backs Edmunds, Darius Slay and James Bradberry.”
There’s little doubt that Baker is among the top safeties in the game. According to Pro Football Focus, Baker posted the 17th-highest defensive grade (73.7) among all players at his position.
“Baker’s greatest asset in 2022 was his ability to stop the run, earning an 80.2 run defense grade (10th) thanks to a 6.1% run-stop rate (fourth) and eight tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage (third),” wrote Jonathon Macri of PFF. “Baker was playing some of his best football late in the year before he got hurt in Week 16, including an 80.7 coverage grade from Weeks 12-16, which was a top-five mark at the position.”
Budda Baker Could Be Seeking Over $19 Million per Year
Baker desires to be the highest-paid safety in the game. He is due $13.1 million for the 2023 season and $14.2 million for the 2024 season. Among safeties, Baker ranks fourth in base salary for the 2023 season. However, he doesn’t even rank within the top five among the highest paid players at his position.
If Baker were to become the highest-paid safety in the game, he’d have to earn an average annual value of at least $19.2 million per season. The current highest-paid safety in the game is the Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin James, who earns a little more than $19.1 million per year on an average annual basis.
For perspective, there isn’t a single player on the books for the Eagles in 2023 who earns more than $15 million per season. Tackle Lane Johnson is the highest-paid Eagles player at $14.7 million for the 2023 season.
With that being said, Philadelphia does have $19.7 million in available cap space, the seventh-best mark in the NFL. In other words, they’d be one of the few teams in the NFL who could afford to sign Baker to a new contract.
The Eagles would also have to trade assets — likely a notable draft pick, with a third-round pick as a reasonable starting point — in order to acquire Baker. As impactful of a safety as Baker is, is Philadelphia willing to sacrifice draft capital along with potentially making him the highest-paid player on the team?
Considering the Eagles have starting-caliber safeties in free agent signees, Edmunds and Evans, along with the returning Reed Blankenship, any potential trade involving Baker might require the safety to sacrifice some earnings in order to join a Super Bowl contender such as Philadelphia.
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