TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is in concussion protocol as his team preps for its Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The news comes after Baker was evaluated for a concussion and eventually cleared in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Cardinals S Budda Baker is in concussion protocol after coming in this week with symptoms, per head coach Jonathan Gannon. pic.twitter.com/76y2KmdY5y
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) December 24, 2025
“Budda in the game had to come out and get checked for concussion protocol,” Gannon said. “He checked out fine, so we put him back in the game. He came in with symptoms (on Monday) so he’s in concussion protocol.”
Despite Sunday’s brief exit, Baker — who was named a 2025 Pro Bowler on Tuesday — still recorded the third most tackles on the team with 10 to go along with a pass defensed.
The safety will now have five stages of the protocol to get through before he can return to play. If he can return to practice on Thursday — albeit in a yellow noncontact jersey — that would signal he’s checking off the right boxes to be cleared as early as this week.
Gannon added the team “will see how it goes” with other injured Cardinals.
That includes pass rusher Josh Sweat, who exited last week’s game with an ankle injury before being ruled out for the rest of the game.
Walter Nolen III and Garrett Williams, two other Cardinals injured in the loss, have already been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee and Achilles injuries, respectively.
Gannon is “not sure” on whether or not Nolen will need surgery. The head coach, however, did confirm Williams tore his Achilles.
