Getty Budda Baker runs with the ball after an interception.
You know the drill by now. A player demands a trade and moments later, Steelers Nation is all over social media pushing their favorite team to make a deal.
Currently, that player is All-Pro safety Budda Baker, who, in the late evening hours of April 14, demanded a trade from the team that drafted him — the Arizona Cardinals. Baker removed all traces of the Big Red from his social media bios and tweeted a goodbye of sorts to fans.
Top landing spots compilations from outlets like CBS Sports and Bleacher Report float the Steelers as an ideal suitor for the disgruntled defender.
Baker led the Cards in tackles (111) in 2022 and had two picks. He’s earned Pro Bowl honors in all but one season and was named All-Pro in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
When you consider everything going down in the desert, it’s no wonder he wants out. Quarterback Kyler Murray and tight end Zach Ertz are recovering from ACL injuries, DeAndre Hopkins is likely leaving, J.J. Watt retired, and defenders Zach Allen and Byron Murphy are with new teams. Oh, and the Cardinals owner is facing serious cheating allegations (among a list of unsavory other things).
Why Budda Baker Makes Sense for the Steelers
Per Steelers.com’s Dale Lolley, Mike Tomlin told reporters at the Annual League Meetings on March 27 that the team planned to add a safety via the NFL draft or free agency. They’d just lost veteran Terrell Edmunds to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“The free agency process is still ongoing, and our draft prep is going well. And so, we’re going to add to that bunch, certainly. By what means is to be determined, but there’s some credible candidates out there in both pools.”
Shortly after that statement, Pittsburgh inked free-agent safeties Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal, both signed within days of each other. But let’s face it, they’re no adequate replacements for Edmunds, nor do they strike fear in the hearts of quarterbacks. If the Steelers were to make something happen, Baker and Minkah Fitzpatrick would be the NFL’s best safety duo.
Why Budda Baker Doesn’t Makes Sense for the Steelers
It’s not as much that Budda Baker doesn’t make sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers as it’s an inopportune time. “If this happened a week ago, I’m writing this article about how the Pittsburgh Steelers must be that team to make the deal for Baker,” wrote Steelers Wire’s Curt Popejoy.
Not only are they cash-strapped ($9.8 million in salary cap space), they aren’t in dire need at safety. At least not let’s-trade-the-farm kind of need. And the farm is likely what it would take to win the Budda Baker Sweepstakes. Even if they did put together a package that the Cardinals found enticing, he’s owed a lot of money. Per ESPN, he’s owed $13.1 million this season and $14.2 million in 2024 from a four-year, $59 million extension he signed in 2020. According to Over the Cap, the cap hits are $16.871 and $17.975 million.
That 2020 deal made him the highest-paid safety at the time, a distinction Baker desires again. But the Steelers already have one of those in Minkah Fitzpatrick, the second-highest-paid safety, according to Over the Cap. They’d have to do some roster shuffling and contract finagling to make it work.
Bottom line: Baker just isn’t a luxury the Steelers can afford. He won’t be donning the black & gold anytime soon.
It’s fun to dream, though.