All-Pro safety Budda Baker would not reveal if he has made any progress in his contract negotiations with the Arizona Cardinals.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Baker is entering eighth season in the NFL this year, all with Arizona, and will be due for a new contract once the season is over. With training camp beginning this week and stars holding out or in across the league for new deals, Baker is not one of them.
“For me, I’m just controlling what I can control,” Baker said when asked Friday if any progress has been made in contract negotiations. “Controlling on having a great season as a team, and, of course, personally, but as a team, and just winning games and letting everything else take care of itself.
“Mentally, I’m just looking forward to this season and looking forward to playing great football with the guys and winning games. So that’s my sole focus.”
Not only is Baker available and ready to go, he also spoke to the team as soon as they reported to camp on Tuesday.
It's day one and @Buddabaker3 is already making an impact at camp
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) July 25, 2024
“The whole mindset was just it’s a new team. We got new players, but we all have one goal,” Baker said of why he gave his message to the team. “For me, just being here the past seven years and understanding the business and understanding the different players each and every year.
“Offseason training was really good for us. It was a great experience for all of us as a team. Then, getting into training camp is letting them know that, for example, towards the end of the years, always during the season, you might have your regrets. Oh, ‘I could have did this better. Oh, I could have did that better.’
“I just wanted to step in and tell them, ‘It’s day one. All those regrets that you possibly will have later in the season, it’s day one now. We’re all starting fresh, and just don’t take it for granted.’ And how much I love the guys and love the team, and how each and every player wants to win, and that’s all I want to do. We all have one goal, and it’s very exciting to have that.”
Last offseason, Baker requested a trade, but still showed up to OTAs. Even with his contract situation this summer, Baker isn’t paying any attention to players across the league and how they handle their negotiations.
“Honestly, I haven’t really been on social media. I don’t really know the stuff that’s been going on,” Baker said when asked about players not going to camp across the league. “It’s been working days for us from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. I’ve been excited with the group we have and just trying to control what I can control, take it one day at a time.”
The Cardinals have only made one postseason appearance during Baker’s seven seasons, but he values winning above all else.
“Throughout my whole life, just growing up, I’m a sore loser. I don’t like to lose,” Baker said. “And, of course, that’s personally, but as a team, I feel like it’s the same thing. We got the guys in here that want to win, that want to work hard.
“For us, it’s more like it’s the player’s team. If you see one guy slacking to get on that guy as a player, and understand, we’re all brothers, we’re all in this together, but we’re trying to get better. That’s my sole focus is winning games.”
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
