Budda Baker to Eagles? Trade Rumor Truth On 'Smoke & Fire'
The Philadelphia Eagles, according to an avalanche of websites, are not only "considered the top trade destination for Budda Baker,'' but more, "There is too much smoke billowing around Baker not to think the Eagles aren’t at least checking in.''
The "smoke'' truly does exist. The issue here, though, as it regards the disgruntled All-Pro safety from the Arizona Cardinals is ... who's doing the puffing?
It's been stated that Baker is "blatantly lobbying to get to Philadelphia dating back to his April comments about Nick Sirianni.'' But his actual comment - "I like that Eagles coach; He is who he is'' - suggests that Baker might not even know the name of "that Eagles coach.''
The five-time Pro Bowler has been often linked to the Eagles in speculative trade scenarios. But the news items that are coming from recognized plugged-in reporters with credibility are scarce.
And in a salary-cap world? Baker's problem in Arizona (along with the losing) is that according to a source he wants a lucrative new contract extension that would make him the highest-paid safety in NFL history (at around $16 million APY. That means he's unhappy with his present deal, which pays him an average of $13.5 million for the next two years.
The Eagles have about $13 million in cap room, and of course, cap math is flexible; if a team really wanted to go there - and GM Howie Roseman has done plenty of that before - it could find room.
But the closest we've gotten to real news here is represented by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who as is his custom tossed some info onto a wall to see if it'd stick.
“People I’ve talked to around the league are at least looking to Philadelphia,'' Fowler "reported.' "But my understanding is they don’t have a lot of money to spend because they signed other players. So it could be tough.”
And if you read that twice, you can see that it's gibberish - and maybe fire-free gibberish that represents the origin of all those noticeable billows of smoke.
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