Once the Cardinals throw on the pads, Baker believes he’ll gain a better idea of how far along they are as a team. Until then, he’ll continue to develop that trust and brotherhood with his new defensive back teammates.
Some of that will come outside the facility as well.
“We had a great time bowling, talking smack to each other, and just building that camaraderie and understanding of who we are outside of football as well,” Baker said, including that Rallis joined the DBs at the outing. “(We) continue to grind and communicate and do all of the things necessary for us to be a good football team, but it’s definitely special to have that camaraderie outside of football as well.”
Despite his longevity, Baker continues to play at the top of his game. The seven-time Pro Bowler had career highs with 164 tackles and 10 tackles for loss in 2024, earning All-Pro honors for the fourth time.
Rallis utilized Baker in various ways. The speedy safety was deep in the secondary, blitzing from the line of scrimmage, and forced teams to game plan around his presence. After a busy offseason spent improving the defensive front seven with the likes of Josh Sweat, Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Walter Nolen III, opposing teams have more than just Baker of whom to be concerned.
“As long as I can be in different areas, that messes up the offense’s understanding of where I’m at, but also creates one-on-ones for our defensive lineman,” Baker said. “As long as we can create one-on-ones and I can do my job at a high level, that’s all the matters.”