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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff WriterDec 17, 2024, 08:11 PM ET
- Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University. You can follow him via Twitter @joshweinfuss.
TEMPE, Ariz. — Almost two years after asking for a new deal or to be traded, Arizona Cardinals All-Pro safety Budda Baker received a new contract on Tuesday.
Budda reached an agreement on a three-year extension worth up to $54 million with $30 million guaranteed, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The $18 million annual per year is the third-largest contract for a safety in NFL history.
Baker is in the final year of a four-year $59 million extension that’s paying him $14.2 million. That deal, which he signed in 2020, made him the highest-paid NFL safety at the time.
Baker, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro who is second in the NFL with 142 tackles, didn’t head into this season looking at it as a contract year.
“I treat every single year like a contract year,” Baker said last offseason. “So, of course I want to be a Cardinal, but at the end of the day, I understand it’s a business.”
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Now Baker, 28, could be in position to retire a Cardinal.
Baker’s teammates knew he was heading into the last year of his contract and wanted to do what they could to help keep him in Arizona, linebacker Kyzir White said.
Baker has established himself as the backbone and heart of Arizona’s defense, both on and off the field.
His presence has influenced how teams attack Arizona’s defense, with offense committing numerous resources throughout a game to neutralize Baker.
Off the field, Baker has been Arizona’s defensive leader for the last few years. His work ethic has been praised by teammates as the standard in the defensive room.
“Big leader,” fellow safety Jalen Thompson said. “I feel like he’s a leader. Kind of gets everybody going. When the energy is down, it’s low, he’s the guy that’s getting everybody up. He’s just one of those guys that does everything right.”
