ESPN’s Dan Graziano says Cardinals S Budda Baker and Bengals OT Jonah Williams have come up as potential candidates to be traded during the draft.
Both players have requested trades this offseason. Baker wants a new contract from Arizona and also could be skeptical of entering a multi-year rebuild. Williams is in a contract year and doesn’t want to move to right tackle now that the Bengals have replaced him on the left side with Orlando Brown Jr.
Switching sides for offensive linemen is tough and left tackles are compensated better than other positions, so it makes sense that Williams doesn’t just want to accept a move in a contract year without exploring his options first.
Draft day trades for veteran players are not totally uncommon, particularly if the Bengals and Cardinals can land replacement players or get good value.
Williams is in the final year of his deal on the fifth-year option and due to make $13.2 million in 2023.
Baker currently has two years left on his deal, which includes non-guaranteed base salaries of $13,096,359 in 2023 and $14.2 million in 2024.
Baker, 27, was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round out of Washington in 2017. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $6.829 million rookie deal and was set to make a base salary of $1.39 million in 2020 when he agreed to a new four-year, $59 million extension with Arizona.
Baker is set to make a base salary of $14.2 million for the 2023 season.
In 2022, Baker appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals and recorded 111 total tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, two interceptions and seven pass deflections.
Williams, 25, was selected by the Bengals in the first round out of Alabama in 2019. He played out the final year of a four-year, $17,630,162 rookie contract that included a $10,841,936 signing bonus.
The Bengals exercised Williams’ fifth-year option which will cost them $13.2 million fully guaranteed for the 2023 season. Williams will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
In 2022, Williams appeared in 16 games for the Bengals and made 16 starts at left tackle. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 61 tackle out of 81 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding Baker and Williams as the news is available.
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