Budda Baker turned in one of his best games of the season when the Arizona Cardinals upset the Rams in Los Angeles, and his name is all over trade deadline lists anyway. CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns sent Baker to the Bills in his 10 moves that need to happen, pointing to a $3 million dead cap hit next year.
That number holds up. Baker’s contract runs through 2027, and a trade now would leave Arizona with $3,061,250 in dead money next season, the last of his prorated signing bonus, according to Over the Cap. His 2027 cap number is $20,891,250, so a deal clears more than $17.8 million. For a 2-4 team that has already moved Kyler Murray and traded Marvin Harrison Jr., that math fits where the roster is headed.
Why Buffalo makes sense for Baker
Buffalo is 5-1 but allows 285.8 passing yards per game, second most in the league, and CBS called the slot the Bills’ biggest weakness. Baker has played all over Arizona’s secondary since 2017, and his 2026 line of 42 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, an interception and four passes defensed shows he still makes plays near the line of scrimmage.
Sunday was his strongest case. Baker played all 58 defensive snaps and posted an 80.0 overall grade, a 79.2 coverage grade and three pressures, according to PFF, including a sack of Matthew Stafford. “That was a full team win,” Baker said after the game. A week earlier against Detroit, he graded out at 33.6 and allowed four catches on five targets, according to PFF.
Arizona doesn’t have to sell. Coach Mike LaFleur called the win “a step in the right direction,” and the defense finally showed signs of life with 13 blitzes, its most of the season.
Baker is also a two-time All-Pro who signed a three-year deal in December 2024 to stay in Glendale. But with Josh Sweat, a $76 million edge rusher, also linked to Dallas, the front office has a chance to stack draft capital before the Nov. 10 deadline without carrying much cap pain into 2027.
More on the Arizona Cardinals
- Arizona Cardinals Found the Defense They Needed — Can It Last?
- Cardinals Were 12.5-Point Underdogs, and the Rams Gave Them Every Chance to Pull It Off
- Preseason Quote from Cardinals’ Mack Wilson Ages Well as Arizona Upsets Rams in Week 6
- Is the Cardinals’ Defense Finally Fixed? What the Week 6 Win Over the Rams Told Us
