Elite $59 Million Safety on Expiring Deal Dubbed Packers’ Top Trade Target.
The Green Bay Packers have made significant moves in recent offseason, often exchanging high-profile players for draft picks.
Green Bay may flip the coin once free agency begins in March and make a move for a well-known figure on a high-dollar deal, albeit one that does not bind the franchise into a pre-negotiated contract beyond 2024.
Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department on Monday, January 29, mapped out an offseason trade guide for the Packers, suggesting that Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker should be Green Bay’s top target.
“Green Bay could potentially lose safeties Jonathan Owens, Christian Uphoff and Darnell Savage in free agency this year,” the scouts wrote. “Dealing for Arizona safety Budda Baker, who is entering the final year of his contract, could help reload the secondary quickly.”
Budda Baker Remains Among Elite NFL Safeties, Could Help Packers Make Another Deep Playoff Run
Baker is an elite safety. That word can be overused in the world of hypothetical trade proposals and free-agency predictions, but where Baker is concerned, it’s the only applicable adjective.
Arizona drafted the safety in 2017, and he promptly earned first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie. Across seven NFL seasons, Baker has landed a spot on one of the All-Pro teams three times as well as Pro-Bowl nods in six campaigns.
Baker signed a four-year, $59 million deal with the Cardinals in August 2020. He tried, unsuccessfully, to renegotiate his contract ahead of the 2023 season — demanding that Arizona either make him the NFL’s highest-paid safety or trade him elsewhere. The team did neither, and Baker ended up playing 12 games for the Cardinals and earning another Pro-Bowl trip.
Budda Baker Probably Too Costly for Packers in Trade, Unless Both Sides Agree to Extension
Baker has only one season left on his contract, but he has a $19 million salary cap penalty, which is a major issue for a team like Green Bay. As of Monday, the organization has an anticipated cap space of $4.8 million.
As a result, the Packers would be better off trading for Baker and then extending him, allowing the two sides to restructure his contract and reduce his cap charge in the short term. The team’s hunt for a new coordinator to replace fired Joe Barry will focus on improving the defense.
Baker is only 28 years old, and while both his advanced analytics and his traditional counting statistics took a dive in 2023, he is still an elite playmaker with time on his side. He has also missed only 10 of a possible 115 regular-season games across the course of his career, which bodes well for his health moving forward.
As a result, the Packers would benefit from trading for Baker and then extending him, allowing the two sides to restructure his contract and minimize his cap charge in the short run. The team’s search for a new coordinator to replace fired Joe Barry will center on upgrading the defense.
Baker is only 28 years old, and while his advanced analytics and traditional counting statistics were down in 2023, he remains a great playmaker with time on his side. He has also missed only 10 out of a possible 115 regular-season games throughout the course of his career, which says volumes about
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