Cardinals trade candidate predicted to land with Commanders in blockbuster deal

The Washington Commanders have made some key additions to their defense in 2026, but one position that could use more love is safety.

The signing of Nick Cross should be helpful and he will start at one safety spot, but who starts next to him remains to be seen. Right now, Washington's choices aren't ideal, with guys like Will Harris and Quan Martin set to compete.

One idea floated by FanSided's Wynston Wilcox involves the Commanders pulling off a blockbuster trade for Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker, who Wilcox considers a trade candidate.

"Baker is expensive, but he’d be a major veteran asset to this defense. They have had one of the oldest rosters in the NFL the last couple of seasons; why not double down on it and improve the secondary at the same time? They did sign Nick Cross to a two-year deal, but with Baker, this team is that much closer to dethroning the Philadelphia Eagles as the NFC champs," Wilcox wrote.

With the Cardinals in the midst of a rebuild and looking to add more draft capital, it makes sense to deal a 30-year-old safety who will be a free agent after 2027.

The former second-round pick is one of the better safeties in the NFL, as evidenced by his eight Pro Bowl nods, including seven in a row, and four All-Pro selections.

Baker had a down season in coverage in 2025, tallying a Pro Football Focus grade of 35.7 in that area. However, that was an outlier for his career, with Baker routinely being above 60 and posting a career-high 74.7 the year prior.

Where Baker didn't falter was in the pass rush and in run defense, where he notched grades of 83.8 and 76.6, respectively, showing he can be one of the best all-around safeties in the league.

That's exactly what the Commanders need, too, along with Baker's aggressiveness on the field that will make Washington's defense nastier.

Baker has big cap hits in 2026 and 2027, but the Commanders have $49.3 million in cap space and Baker can be cut with very little penalty next year if things don't pan out, so there isn't a ton of risk here.

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