Over the past two offseasons, the GreenBay Packersven’t hesitated to make blockbuster moves; yet, they have frequently sold the big name in exchange for draft p haicks.
When free agency opens in March, Green Bay may choose to go the other way and pursue a well-known player on a high-profile contract, albeit one that might not tie the team to a pre-negotiated agreement past 2024.
On Monday, January 29, the Scouting Department of Bleacher Report unveiled the Packers’ offseason trade guide, recommending that the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker, a safety, be Green Bay’s top target.
The scouts stated, “Green Bay may lose safety Darnell Savage, Christian Uphoff, and Jonathan Owens in free agency this year. “Reloading the secondary fast might be aided by negotiating for Arizona safety Budda Baker, who is about to reach the final year of his contract.”
Baker is a superior safety. In the context of speculative trade offers and free-agency forecasts, that word is sometimes misused, but in Baker’s case, it is the only suitable adjective.
The safety was drafted by Arizona in 2017, and as a rookie, he was immediately named to the first team of the NFL. In seven NFL seasons, Baker has been selected to three All-Pro teams and has been considered for the Pro Bowl in six of those seasons.
In August 2020, Baker agreed to a four-year, $59 million contract with the Cardinals. Prior to the 2023 season, he made an unsuccessful attempt to renegotiate his contract, asking Arizona to either give him the highest salary of any safety in the league or move him. The group chose not to, and Baker went on to play 12 games for the Cardinals and earn a trip to the Pro Bowl once more.
Despite just having one season left on his contract, Baker is subject to a $19 million salary cap charge, which presents a significant challenge for a team like Green Bay. As of Monday, the organization’s expected cap space was just $4.8 million.
It most likely wouldn’t be a smart business move for Green Bay to make Baker the most paid safety in football. However, if the new DC thinks Baker fits, increasing his salary to roughly $15 or $16 million a year over the course of three or four seasons may make sense.
By incorporating a sizeable signing bonus into the deal, the organization can lessen Baker’s initial cap hit. However, they will still need to free up $21 in cap space if they decide to cut or trade left tackle David Bakhtiari this summer, which is almost a given given his recent injury issues and a $40 million cap hit in 2024.
For Heavy.com, Max Dible covers the Golden State Warriors, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and Cleveland Browns. Before joining Heavy, he worked as the news director for Pacific Media Group’s chain of Big Island radio stations as well as a reporter for West Hawaii Today, covering both local and state news. He also worked as the news director for BigIslandNow.com. Additional information on Max Dible
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