Budda Baker
Budda Baker was born in Bellevue, Washington, United States on January 10th, 1996 and is the Football Player. At the age of 28, Budda Baker biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 28 years old, Budda Baker has this physical status:
Bishard "Budda" Baker (born January 10, 1996) is an American football free safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).
At Washington, he played college football.
Early years
Baker attended Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Washington. He played football and running back in football, as well as running track. As a senior, he was named the Seattle Times High School Athlete of the Year. Baker was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as one of the top safeties in his class. He volunteered to the University of Oregon to play college football but before National Signing Day, he moved to the University of Washington.
Personal life
Since she thought he looked like a Buddha doll, Baker's mother started calling him Budda as a baby.
College career
Baker started all 14 games at Washington in 2014, totaling 80 tackles, one interceptor, and one sack. Baker was named a Freshman All-American by USA Today in honor of his freshman campaign. He started 12 of 13 games and was named All-Pac-12 after receiving 49 tackles and two interceptions as a freshman in 2015. Baker was named a pre-season All-American prior to the 2016 season. Baker earned consensus all-American honors following his appearance on the Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America as a result of being named a first-team all-American and a second-team all-American by The American Football Coaches Association and The Associated Press in 2016. Baker announced on January 3, 2017 that he did not return from his senior season and entered the 2017 NFL Draft.
Professional career
Baker also completed all of the combine and positional drills at the NFL Combine. He was at Washington's Pro Day but only conducted positional drills for over 50 NFL players and scouts. The majority of NFL draft analysts and analysts expected Baker to be a second-round pick. Teams were impressed by his results, but they were worried that his size could have an effect on their ability to play in the NFL. NFL analyst Mike Mayock ranked him second best free safety prospect in the draft and fourth best safety in the draft by Sports Illustrated and ESPN.
In the second round (36th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Baker. The Arizona Cardinals traded their second round (45th overall), fourth round (119th overall), and seventh round (197th overall) picks in the 2017 NFL Draft in order to advance to the second round and draft Baker with the 36th overall pick. The Cardinals also received a seventh round pick (221st overall) from the Chicago Bears. He was the fourth safety pick in 2017 and one of three Washington defensive backs chosen, along with Kevin King and Sidney Jones.
Baker was signed by the Arizona Cardinals to a four-year, $6.83 million deal, with three-years guarantees and a signing bonus of $3.10 million.
Baker was unable to attend OTA's or minicamp until the University of Washington's graduation day due to NFL's rules for colleges that follow quarters systems. Throughout training camp, he impressed coaches and was named the back-up free safety to Tyrann Mathieu for the regular season.
In the 35-23 loss, he made his professional regular season debut in the Arizona Cardinals' season-opener. After Tyvon Branch sustained a torn ACL injury the week before, Baker earned his first career start on November 19, 2017. He made his first career appearance (11 solo), deflected two passes, and fired his first tackle during a 31–21 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 11. Baker was one of four Cardinals named to the 2018 Pro Bowl as a special teamer on December 19, 2017. In the Cardinals' 23–0 victory over the New York Giants, he tied his season-high of 13 combined tackles (eight solo) and gave up a pass. In 16 games and seven starts, he finished his rookie season in 2017 with 74 total tackles (58 solo) and seven pass deflections (three in a row).
Bruce Arians, the head coach, announced his resignation on January 1, 2018. The Arizona Cardinals reported on January 22, 2018, that Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would be hired as their new head coach. Baker wanted to be the starting strong defense against Tre Boston throughout training camp. Baker, the head coach Steve Wilks, as well as free safety Antoine Bethea, have all been named as the starting strong defense for the regular season. Tre Boston was also named the first-team nickel back in packages that call for five defensive backs, with Tre Boston taking over a safety in packages that call for five defensive backs. During a 28–18 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Baker earned a season-high 16 combined tackles (11 solo), deflected a pass, and sacked. Baker made a 36-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 28–17 loss. He finished second on the team last season with 102 tackles in 14 games and 13 starts.
Baker had a team high 11 tackles against the Baltimore Ravens in week 2 as the Cardinals lost 23–17. Baker lost 28-25 on week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, with a team high 13 tackles and three passes defended. Baker accounted for a team high 9 tackles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10 and forced a fumble on running back Ronald Jones II, which he recovered from in the 30-27 loss.
Baker signed a four-year, $59 million contract with the Cardinals on August 25, 2020, giving him the highest-paid safety in football at the time. Baker had a team high 15 tackles (10 solo) against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of Week 1. During Week 5 against the New York Jets, Baker was fired for the first time of the season on Joe Flacco. Baker caused a fumble on running back Ezekiel Elliott that was recovered by the Cardinals, sacked quarterback Andy Dalton once more, and the first interception by Dalton during the 38-0 victory on Monday night. For his appearance in Week 6, Baker was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Baker continued his team high 14 tackles and intercepted a pass from Russell Wilson in Week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, but he was tackled by DK Metcalf before he was able to reach the endzone during the 37-34 overtime victory. After a total of 31 tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble, Baker was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October.
Baker changed his number from 32 to 3 before the 2021 season, with the NFL's new jersey numbering system. He appeared in all 17 games, recording 98 tackles, two sacks, seven passes defense, and three interceptions.