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NFL -- 10/28 18:30 -- by Josh Weinfuss
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cardinals Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker hopes that when the trade deadline passes, he'll still be in Arizona. Baker told ESPN on Wednesday that he has not requested a trade, nor has he requested not to be traded. Baker also said he has not talked to general manager Monti Ossenfort "about anything." The NFL trade deadline is on Nov. 10. "My approach is I'm here," Baker said. "I'm here. I want to win. I want to be here. And I'm just controlling what I can control, just taking it one week at a time, and hopefully when the deadline ends, I'll still be here. If not, I mean, it's a business. I understand at the end of the day and that's it."
Baker pointed out that his name has been attached to trade rumors for "like five, six years now." "So, at the end of the day, I'm here, be where your feet are," Baker said. "I'm happy to be a Cardinal and just focus on getting a W this week versus Cowboys." Baker, 30, is in his 10th season, all with the Cardinals. He made the Pro Bowl in eight of his first nine seasons, with the past seven coming at safety. He was named a Pro Bowler on special teams as a rookie. Baker has eclipsed 100 tackles in six of his first nine seasons and is on pace for his seventh. He has nine career interceptions and 13.5 career sacks. Baker is in the second season of a three-year extension that he signed toward the end of the 2024 season that is scheduled to keep him under contract through the 2027 season. Baker is scheduled to earn $16.17 million this season. Baker said he understands that the NFL is, ultimately, a business and the trade deadline is a means to help teams improve. "It's a deadline for a reason," Baker said. "Teams are trying to get players, and our team might be trying to get players and getting other players. So, at the end of the day, it's a business. "So, for me, it's just continue to play great football. I feel like I'm playing great football right now and just control what I can control."
Read on the web: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50312624/cardinals-budda-baker-stay-arizona-trade-deadline
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