1. Bishard "Budda" Baker was born on January 10,1996 and is an American professional football safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League.
37 Facts About Budda Baker
1. 2.
Budda Baker played college football for the Washington Huskies, and was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
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Budda Baker played safety and running back in football, and ran track.
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Budda Baker was rated as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top safeties in his class.
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Budda Baker originally committed to the University of Oregon to play college football, but flipped to the University of Washington the night before National Signing Day.
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Budda Baker was named a pre-season All-American prior to the 2016 season.
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On January 3,2017, Budda Baker announced his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2017 NFL draft.
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Budda Baker attended the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills.
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Budda Baker participated at Washington's Pro Day and only ran positional drills for over 50 NFL team representatives and scouts.
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The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected Budda Baker to be a second round pick.
11.
The Cardinals traded their 2017 second-round, fourth-round, and seventh-round picks to the Chicago Bears in return for the 36th overall pick to draft Budda Baker and received a seventh-round pick.
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Budda Baker was the fourth safety selected in 2017 and one of three Washington defensive backs selected, along with Kevin King and Sidney Jones.
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Budda Baker impressed coaches throughout training camp and was named the backup free safety to Tyrann Mathieu to begin the regular season.
14.
On November 19,2017, Budda Baker earned his first career start after Tyvon Branch suffered a torn ACL the previous week.
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On December 19,2017, Budda Baker was one of four Cardinals named to the 2018 Pro Bowl as a special teamer.
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Budda Baker finished his rookie season in 2017 with 74 combined tackles and seven pass deflections in 16 games and seven starts.
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Budda Baker was named to the Pro Bowl and earned first team All-Pro honors as a rookie.
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Head coach Steve Wilks named Budda Baker the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety Antoine Bethea.
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Budda Baker was named the first-team nickel back with Tre Boston taking over at strong safety in packages that require five defensive backs.
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Budda Baker finished the season second on the team with 102 tackles through 14 games and 13 starts.
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Budda Baker was ranked 97th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
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Budda Baker was named the National Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 6.
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Budda Baker earned his third Pro Bowl and second first team All-Pro nomination.
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Budda Baker was ranked 19th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
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Budda Baker earned a third consecutive and fourth overall Pro Bowl nomination.
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Budda Baker started all 17 games, recording 98 tackles, two sacks, seven passes defensed, and three interceptions.
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Budda Baker was ranked 67th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
28.
On December 28,2022, Budda Baker was placed on injured reserve after suffering a fractured shoulder in the team's game against the Buccaneers.
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Budda Baker finished with 111 total tackles, two interceptions, seven passes defended, and one forced fumble.
30.
Budda Baker earned his fourth consecutive and fifth nomination to the Pro Bowl.
31.
Budda Baker was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
32.
On September 18,2023, Budda Baker was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 2.
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Budda Baker appeared in 12 games in the 2023 season and had 87 tackles.
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Budda Baker was ranked 89th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.
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Budda Baker will remain under contract with the Cardinals through the 2027 season.
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Budda Baker finished the 2024 season with two sacks, 164 tackles, five passes defended, and one forced fumble.
37.
Budda Baker finished second in the NFL in combined tackles.