Should the Patriots try to trade for this All-Pro safety?

All-Pro Arizona Cardinals’ safety Budda Baker requested a trade on Friday. Should the New England Patriots make this move?  Well the Pats do have a need in the secondary, especially with the recent retirement of Devin McCourty.

Kyle Dugger is also entering the last year of his rookie deal, so that’s also relevant.

The Arizona Cardinals are a bit of a mess, to say the least.  They lost stud cornerback Byron Murphy and defensive end Zach Allen in free agency.  JJ Watt also retired and the head coach and general manager were both replaced.

Now, their best player not named Kyler Murray wants out.  Well, could the Patriots make this move?  Maybe.

Like I said, they do have a need at safety, so the fit does make sense.  Finding a replacement for Devin McCourty is never going to happen, but Baker can come close.

He’s got over 600 career tackles in six season.  He’s also got seven career interceptions and 34 passes defended.  He’s made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.

Safety isn’t exactly and urgent need for the Patriots, and a trade for Budda Baker would then likely have to be followed by a very rich contract extension.  This would then likely mean that Kyle Dugger leaves in free agency in 2024, which I guess would not be a terrible thing since Baker is better.

Bill Belichick would not strike me as someone to make a trade like this, but he was also the one who put a defensive coordinator in charge of the offense in 2022, and did trade a third round pick for DeVante Parker, so I guess anything is still possible.

The Cardinals would also probably prefer to trade Baker out of the conference since he’s such a talented player, so the Pats would satisfy that likely requirement.

Should New England consider looking into this trade?