All’s quiet on the western front as the Arizona Cardinals have off Saturday after the first three practices of training camp, and that goes for safety Budda Baker, who is, well, just being Budda, despite the fact he’s entering the final year of his contract.
When asked in the offseason about the business side of things, Baker would only say that his agent takes care of that. Friday, it was wondered whether there were any updates or movement.
Not surprisingly, he would only say, “For me, I’m just controlling what I can control. Just 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. So 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.”
When it was suggested it’s a good thing for the team for him to handle the situation the way he is and not be a distraction, unlike holdouts or hold-ins around the NFL, Baker deftly said, “Honestly, I haven’t really been on social media. I don’t really know the stuff that’s been going on. Just working days for us. I’ve just been excited with the group that we have, control what I can control, take it one day at a time, ask questions not only for myself but the young guys as well.
“Each and every day, we always talk about it: It’s the grind that’s gonna help us win.”
And for Baker, winning is what it’s all about, more than the individual accolades that come his way.
“Throughout my whole life, growing up, I’m a sore loser,” he said. “I don’t like to lose. 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 … it’s the players’ team so if you see one guy slacking, get on that guy as a player. Understand we’re all brothers, we’re all in this together, but we’re trying to get better. That’s my sole focus.”
Asked what he believes is the best part of camp, Baker said, “See the guys take an extra step. There’s the offseason program where one guy might mess up something and another person might mess up the same thing, but in training camp it’s; you might make that one mistake and you gotta clear that and not make that same mistake again. And continue to get better as a group.
“I will say, this is Day 3 for us and I definitely feel like we’ve been getting better with the three days that we have. We’re so far along, ahead from last year, so definitely excited for this group with the new additions we got, rookies and veterans. So, you know, it’s time to win.”
That all comes with the backdrop of the talk Baker gave to the team at the first team meeting Tuesday night.
Asked what the essence of his message was, Baker said, “The whole mindset is it’s a new team. We got new players; we all have one goal. For me just being here the past seven years, understanding the business and understanding there’s different players each and every year. For me, offseason training was really good for us. It was a great experience for all of us as a team and just getting to training camp is letting them know that for example, towards the end of the year, always during the season, you might have your regrets.
“I could’ve done this better, I could’ve done that better. For me, I just wanted to step in and tell them, it’s Day 1 so all those regrets you possibly will have later in the season, it’s Day 1 now so we’re all starting fresh and just don’t take it for granted. Just how much I love the guys and love the team and how each and every player just wants to win. That’s all I want to do. We all have one goal and it’s very exciting to have that.”
Asked when it entered his mind to speak, Baker said, “I always have the thought of going up to talk; it’s just a matter of asking JG (head coach Jonathan Gannon) about it first. For me it’s just expressing what was in my mind, what was in my heart.”
Baker flashed back to his rookie year of 2017 when asked whether he relishes being a leader.
He said, “As a rookie I had to ask questions to be able to understand more. I needed the older vets to count on. Now I’m 28. I’m like the older vet now, having that ability to first understand my job and do my job at a high level and then when they ask me questions having those answers for them. I love seeing guys grow, I love seeing guys get better, I love seeing guys get taken care of. Thats’ my main goal.”
There were more flashbacks when the discussion centered around how his leadership style evolved.
Baker said, “I think I’ve grown into it. In high school, I was one of the very quiet guys that kinda just led by example and just worked very hard. Maybe toward my junior year, senior year, my coaches are like, ‘You need to talk a little more.’”
At first that was rough because he admitted being anxious when he was younger talking to the team and would lose his breath at times.
Now?
“It’s just kinda second nature for me,” he said. “It’s not talking too much, but when there needs to be something that’s said that’s when I talk. Of course, it’s always lead by example but when it’s time to talk, I feel like I have that innate ability to ask JG, ask the team if I can talk.”
And when Budda Baker talks, people listen.
Even Kyler Murray, apparently.
During Friday’s practice, Baker nearly had an interception and then had a pass defensed on a Murray pass to wide receiver Chris Moore. Baker often says during the season that opposing quarterbacks don’t throw the ball in his area. In 2023, he had no pass breakups or interceptions.
He got animated after practice when asked how that felt.
“It’s so exciting,” he admitted. “The first two days, I’m like, ‘K1, throw it to me a little bit today.’ Today was just very good, very special to see the ball in the air. I don’t really see that in the games, so just to see it in practice definitely gets me excited. But, I gotta understand I gotta make those plays because I’m not gonna see it as much.”
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