Budda Baker has been model of consistency for Arizona Cardinals

Heading into his tenth season in the NFL, former Washington Huskies star Budda Baker has been no stranger to turmoil throughout his time with the Arizona Cardinals.

Mike LaFleur will be the fifth head coach Baker has played for in his career, after spending his rookie year under Bruce Arians, 2018 with Steve Wilkes, 2019-22 with Kliff Kingsbury, and 2023-25 with Jonathan Gannon. No matter who’s been at the helm, Baker has found success, but he had some strong words in support of his rookie head coach.

“I love LaFleur,” Baker said in a press conference. “He’s doing a great job with the team, he corrals really good energy…just having a good time learning the system again. (Defensive coordinator) Nick (Rallis) made some changes with some things defensively…its been a great offseason.”

In his career, he’s been selected to eight Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams, including a pair of First Team honors, with 1,021 tackles, 51 for loss, 10 sacks, 44 pass breakups, 8 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, and 6 fumble recoveries, all with one team.

“For me, it’s just a matter of each and every year it’s just putting that work in to be better as a player, be better as a person and a teammate,” Baker said. “I know I’m entering year ten, but just feeling like it’s my rookie year each and every year, continuing to work and grind like I need to earn the job. That’s definitely been my mental year in and year out, and heading into year ten it’s flew by, but feeling great, feeling amazing, I don’t feel like I’ve lost any steps.”

While Baker has stayed loyal to the Cardinals, and the organization has been loyal to him, signing him to a three-year, $54 million contract extension in December 2024, it’s also worth noting that the team has made the playoffs just once in his career. In the NFC West, arguably the toughest division in football, since it holds last season’s two NFC Championship game participants in the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, things won’t be easy for Arizona.

Despite his loyalty, that means Baker could wind up being the subject of trade talks at some point during the year, since his deal runs through the end of the 2027 season.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Budda Baker has been model of consistency for Arizona Cardinals