Cardinals' Budda Baker: Records career-high tackle mark
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Baker racked up 164 tackles, including 2.0 sacks, five pass defenses and one forced fumble in 17 games during the 2024 regular season.
Since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Baker hasn't been involved too much in terms of turnovers (just seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries in 122 career contests). However, he's reached the century mark in tackles five times in eight campaigns, including a personal best (by 17) in 2024. Baker is under contract through the 2027 campaign, so the 29-year-old remains locked in as a top IDP option among the league's defensive backs.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Nearly picks off Stafford
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Baker logged seven tackles (one solo) and two pass defenses during the Cardinals' 13-9 loss to the Rams on Sunday.
Baker nearly picked off Matthew Stafford late in the second quarter on a pass intended for Tyler Higbee, but instead the Rams scored on the next play on a one-yard touchdown run by Kyren Williams. Baker has tallied at least seven combined tackles in all but one game this season, and his 155 combined tackles through 16 regular-season games is second most in the NFL behind Zaire Franklin (165). With Arizona eliminated from playoff contention, Baker will look to finish the 2024 campaign on a high note against San Francisco on Sunday.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Six tackles against Carolina
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Baker tallied six tackles (two solo) during the Cardinals' 36-30 overtime loss to the Panthers on Sunday.
Baker has played in every single defensive snap in 11 of 15 regular-season games. He's up to 148 combined tackles on the year, which is not only the second-highest figure in the NFL behind Zaire Franklin (151), but a new career high for Baker as well. Baker's production was rewarded this past Tuesday when he signed a three-year, $54 million extension to become the third-highest paid safety on an APY basis behind Antoine Winfield and Derwin James. Baker will look to add to his tackling total in Saturday's NFC West clash against the Rams.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Dominant in loss
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Baker totaled 18 tackles (eight solo) during Arizona's loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.
Baker had one of his best games of the campaign despite the loss as he racked up a season-high 18 tackles. Throughout 13 games played, the 28-year-old has compiled 132 tackles (81 solo), with 2.0 sacks, and will look to add to his total during the team's Week 15 matchup versus New England.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Continues dominating in Week 10
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Baker recorded nine total tackles (six solo), including 1.0 sacks and an additional two tackles for loss, and defended one pass in Sunday's 31-6 win over the Jets.
Baker stuffed the stat sheet in Sunday's blowout win, continuing to add to one of the most productive seasons of his career. The All-Pro safety has now accumulated 100 total tackles (the second most in the NFL), including 1.0 sacks, and three passes defended through the Cardinals' first 10 games this season. Arizona has a Week 11 bye, and Baker is expected to keep building on his incredible 2024 campaign when the Cardinals take on the Seahawks in Week 12.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Another big performance in win
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Baker finished with 12 tackles (10 solo) in Sunday's 29-9 win over the Bears.
The veteran safety is now second in the league in tackles with 91 and tied for first in solo tackles with 58. Baker also has two pass breakups on the year. He has played on every defensive snap in six of nine games and on at least 85.0 percent of the defensive snaps in all nine contests.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Makes eight tackles
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Baker recorded eight tackles (four solo) in Monday's 17-15 win over the Chargers.
The safety also played on every defensive snap for the fifth time in seven games this season. Baker has 67 tackles (42 solo) and a pass defensed on the year.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Active in loss
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Baker recorded eight tackles (four solo) in Sunday's 34-13 loss to the Packers.
The safety also played on every defensive snap for the fourth time in six games. Baker has 60 tackles (38 solo) on the year, tied for third most in the league.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Full practice participant Thursday
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Baker (quadriceps) was a full participant in Thursday's practice session.
Baker was limited in Wednesday's session due to a quadriceps injury he picked up in Week 3 against the Lions. He was able to practice without restrictions Thursday, and he should be good to go for Sunday's game against the Commanders. Through the first three games of the regular season, Baker has totaled 25 tackles (16 solo) and one pass defended.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Registers 10 tackles vs. Buffalo
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Baker recorded 10 tackles (four solo) in Sunday's 34-28 loss to the Bills.
Baker was the second-leading tackler for the Cardinals on Sunday behind Kyzir White, and the duo joined corner Sean Murphy-Bunting and strong safety Jalen Thompson as the only defenders to play all 58 defensive snaps. Baker played in 100 percent of Arizona's defensive snaps in 11 of 12 regular-season games in 2023, and he continued that trend in the opening contest of the 2024 season.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Falls short of 100 tackles in 2023
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Baker accumulated 87 tackles across 12 regular-season games in 2023.
Since opening his career with 74 tackles as a second-round rookie in 2017, Baker reached the century mark in the category in five of the next six campaigns, but falling short of that in the most recent season isn't shocking considering he was on injured reserve Weeks 2-6. His prorated (to 17 games) tackle count was 123, which would have been the second most to his actual tally of 147 from 2019. Otherwise, Baker didn't notch any sacks for the second year in a row and snapped his run of multiple interceptions at three seasons. He has one year remaining on his current contract, so a bounceback may be in the offing as he seeks another big payday.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Double-digit tackles in loss
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Baker recorded 10 tackles (seven solo) in Sunday's 27-16 loss to the Bears.
Baker was able reach double-digit stops for the third time this season and first time since Week 10. The safety has remained one of the most productive at his position this year, racking up 73 tackles over the 10 contests he's appeared in so far.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Iffy for Sunday due to illness
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Baker was a late addition to the Cardinals' injury report and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers due to an illness, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Given that he was omitted from the injury reports issued Wednesday through Friday, Baker presumably came down with an illness at some point Saturday. The Cardinals will likely wait and see how the veteran safety bounces back from the illness over the next few hours before making a call on his status when the team releases its inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. If Baker is unable to play, Arizona could turn to Joey Blount or Andre Chachere to replace him in the starting lineup.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Has another good showing
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Baker recorded eight tackles (six solo) in Sunday's 24-10 win at Pittsburgh.
Baker posted eight-plus tackles for the fourth time in his last five games in Week 13. He's been on a tear since missing five of Arizona's first six games to start the season, and he'll be a great IDP option after the Cardinals' bye in Week 14.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Returning to practice
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Arizona designated Baker (hamstring) for return from injured reserve Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
The transaction opens up a 21-day window during which the Cardinals must either add Baker to the 53-man roster or choose to leave the safety on IR for the remainder of the season. The Cardinals will likely see how Baker fares in practice this week before determining if he's fit to play in Sunday's game at Seattle. Baker was a top-performing IDP option when available in 2022, finishing with 111 tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble over 15 appearances.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Placed on injured reserve
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Baker (hamstring) was placed on IR on Monday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Baker injured his hamstring in practice Friday and missed the team's Week 2 loss to the Giants. He'll now be out until at least the team's Oct. 22 matchup against the Rams in Week 7. The news is certainly a blow to the Cardinals defense, which had been competitive up until a second-half collapse in Week 2. Andre Chachere should continue to draw the start at safety in Baker's absence.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Cleared for Monday
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Baker doesn't have an injury designation for Monday's matchup against the 49ers, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Baker didn't practice Thursday due to a lingering ankle injury, progressed to a limited participant Friday and was full go Saturday, putting him in line to play Monday. He played through the issue in Week 10 and recorded four tackles and one interception but saw a season-low 80 percent of the team's defensive snaps.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: DNP on Thursday
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Baker (ankle) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.
Despite coming out of Week 9 action with a high-ankle sprain, Baker only needed one limited session last week to be able to suit up this past Sunday at the Rams, where he took on a smaller snap share than normal (80 percent) and recorded four tackles and his first interception of the season. He's kicking off Week 11 prep with a DNP, but he'll have two more opportunities to mix into drills ahead of Monday's contest against the 49ers in Mexico City. Whether or not he does so remains to be seen, but Chris Banjo and inside linebacker Isaiah Simmons would be the candidates to cover for an absent Baker at free safety.
Baker (ankle) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
According to Urban, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said earlier this week that there was a "zero percent" chance of Baker playing against the Rams, but the Cardinals are apparently now leaving the door open for the safety to suit up this weekend after he practiced in a limited capacity Friday. That being said, Kingsbury said Friday that the team will be "really smart" in determining Baker's status for this week, but it's at least encouraging for the 26-year-old's long-term prospects that he has been upgraded to questionable.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Logs eight more tackles Sunday
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Baker recorded eight tackles and a forced fumble during Sunday's 20-12 defeat to the Rams.
Baker (27 tackles) and fellow safety Jalen Thompson (26) continue to pace the Cardinals in stops, and Baker's forced fumble of Rams running back Cam Akers was recovered by Thompson. Baker and Thompson thus are the Cardinals' safest lineup plays in IDP formats on a weekly basis, with both on pace for 145-plus tackles for a 17-game slate.
