Pros and cons of Detroit Lions trading for safety Budda Baker
With about a month to go until the start of training camp, the Lions appear to be fairly content with their roster, and don’t appear to be on the verge of making any trades.Ā
However, if they were to upgrade one position via trade, safety would be toward the top of the list.
At this present juncture, Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu are slated to be the team’s starters at the position. And, second-year pro Brian Branch ā who excelled at nickel corner in 2023 ā should also see an increased number of snaps at safety.
Additionally, behind the three of them, Detroit is a bit thin at the position, with second-year pro Brandon Joseph and C.J. Moore ā who was suspended all of last season ā set to be the team’s primary reserves.
Detroit could seemingly use additional depth at safety, and it wouldn’t hurt general manager Brad Holmes to even bolster the organization’s starting duo at the position.
If Holmes were to do that, Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker would be a great target.
Baker, a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, has spent his entire NFL career playing for the Cardinals.Ā
The 2017 second-round pick, who most recently was an All-Pro selection in 2020, has suited up for more than 100 games for the Cardinals. Through seven seasons, he’s accumulated 737 total tackles, including 37 for loss, 34 passes defensed, seven interceptions and 7.5 sacks. He’s also racked up six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
This past season, the 28-year-old produced 87 total tackles, including five for loss, in 12 games. It was the least amount of games that Baker, who spent time on injured reserve in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, has ever played in a single season.Ā For his efforts in the injury-shortened campaign, he earned a 64.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, for one, believes that Holmes & Co. should pursue a trade for the veteran safety. He listed the Lions dealing for Baker as one of his eight āshocking NFL trades that would impact playoff races in 2024.”
Davenport’s reasoning for the trade: “If there’s one area where the Lions could use a major boost, it’s safety. Brian Branch is a rising young nickelback, but safeties Kerby Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brandon Joseph are average talents at best.”
One of the main things likely standing in the way of Detroit trading for Baker is his contract. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2024 season. And, when you consider the fact that dealing for Baker would likely cost the Lions some high-end draft capital, Arizonaās asking price would probably be too steep for Holmesā liking.
Davenport, meanwhile, projected that a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 seventh-rounder would be a sufficient enough package to land Baker.
āBaker enters his seventh professional season having played in exactly one postseason game, and if he hits the open market next year, teams will be lining up sign the 28-year-oldāteams who can offer Baker something Arizona can’t. A realistic shot at a Super Bowl run,” Davenport continued. “The Cardinals get more in this perspective deal than they would in compensatory picks. The Lions shore up their biggest defensive weakness with a six-time Pro Bowler. And Baker gets to play for a team with a good chance of making a trip to New Orleans in February.”
Baker would surely provide immense value to the back-end of the Lionsā secondary. He’d immediately become Detroit’s top safety, while allowing either Kerby Joseph or Melifonwu to slide into the role of the team’s primary reserve at the position. This, in effect, would certainly strengthen the Lionsā safety depth.Ā
Yet, Baker would more than likely be just a one-year rental for Detroit, and because of such, I see Holmes steering clear of trading for the talented safety.
