The Arizona Cardinals keep their All Pro safety for three more years.
The Arizona Cardinals have been working diligently to sign Budda Baker to a contract extension.
It is finally done.
The team announced they have agreed with the All Pro safety on a three-year contract extension.
From the team:
The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has agreed to terms with safety Budda Baker on a three-year contract extension that keeps the six-time Pro Bowl selection under contract through the 2027 season.
Below are some of the key highlights from Baker’s NFL career:
· Selected by the Cardinals in the second round (36th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Washington, Baker has been selected to six Pro Bowls and was named a starter at safety in five consecutive years. He is the only safety in the NFL named to the Pro Bowl each of the last five seasons (2019-23).
· Voted a team captain each of the last five seasons (2020-24), he is just the third player in Cardinals history to receive at least six Pro Bowl selections in his first seven NFL seasons joining Patrick Peterson (7) and Ollie Matson (6)
· Baker has earned Associated Press All-Pro honors three times, with first-team honors in 2017 and 2020 and second-team honors in 2021.
· The 28-year old Baker has appeared in 119 games (109 starts) during the regular season and has 861 tackles (600 solo), 46 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, seven interceptions, 37 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries (one returned for a TD).
· Since entering the league in 2017, he leads all NFL defensive backs in total tackles (861) and solo tackles (600). His 861 tackles are 77 more than the player who ranks second on the list (Kevin Byard – 784).
· This season, Baker leads the Cardinals and ranks second in the NFL with 142 tackles. He needs six tackles over the next three games to set a new career-high (147 in 2019). Baker reached 100 tackles this season in Week 10 against the Jets, becoming the Cardinals first player to have 100+ tackles through the first 10 weeks of a season since 1994 when the stat first became trackable.
· The 2024 season is Baker’s fifth year with 100+ tackles, the most among active defensive backs. He also has 33 career games with double-digit tackles, including seven this season. His 33 games with double-digit tackles are the most among NFL defensive backs dating back to his rookie season in 2017.
· Baker is the only defensive back in the NFL with at least 85 tackles each of the last seven seasons and one of just seven NFL players – at any position – to accomplish the feat.