Washington Football‘s Budda Baker now calls Arizona home. And as an Arizona Cardinal, he made a great first impression in the Hall of Fame Game
Former Washington Football safety Budda Baker knows that he must put it all out there.
After all, he’s a rookie on an NFL team working to reestablish themselves as a playoff contender. The Arizona Cardinals are familiar with the NFL playoffs, and have set the bar quite high to earn playing time on the team, particularly on that defense. Despite the team settling for a 7-8-1 season, that defense remained second in the entire NFL. So it’s a safe assumption that a rookie hoping to earn playing time must make a good first impression.
So when social media NFL.com tweets your highlights on your first game out, you know you’ve made a good first impression.
Another star in the @AZCardinals secondary?
— NFL (@NFL) August 4, 2017
@buddabaker32's Hall of Fame Game highlights! 👇👇👇 https://t.co/Nog0a1mTG0
That’s a great way to begin an NFL career, isn’t it?
Budda fits hard-hitting smart defender mode
The Arizona Cardinals are looking for players who can jump right in and start on that defense. This is not a slow moving train pulling away from the station. The Arizona Cardinals are a fast paced team with post-season aspirations. And so, they have little interest in slowing down the or team progress to give rookies a chance to grasp what is going on around them.
And that is just the way rookie safety likes it.
If Budda Baker continues to make plays in practice and games they'll have a hard time keeping him on the sidelines. He could be a starter?
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) August 5, 2017
Well sure, it’s easy to say from the stands. But what about on the field? The only real opinion that matters is that of head coach Bruce Arians. After all, his is the voice of the ultimate decision maker on that team.
Coach Arians gives two thumbs-up
Coach Arians is a tad like Coach Petersen in that he is a straight-shooter, he trusts his assessment of talent, and he appreciates passionate, committed, intelligent players.
But most of all, head coach Bruce Arians likes what he sees when safety Budda Baker is on the field.
Baker is home in the NFL
Budda Baker is a solid NFL player. He is physical, athletic, passionate and intelligent. He was coached up to an NFL level by Washington Football defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake. And he had solid company in both Kevin King and Sidney Jones IV both heading to the NFL via round two of the 2017 NFL Draft.
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Arizona may need some pieces on the offensive side of the ball, but that defense appears very stout right now. And rookie safety Budda Baker is one of the reasons why. Preseason is not about wins or losses. It comes down to the comfort level of rookies on that NFL field, and the comfort of players with their teammates.
Rookie safety Budda Baker is right at home in the National Football League.