ESPN’s Bill Barnwell tabs Cardinals’ Budda Baker as ‘on the cusp’ of a Hall of Fame player

Safety Budda Baker has made eight Pro Bowls in nine years with the Arizona Cardinals, which was enough for ESPN’s Bill Barnwell to consider the two-time All-Pro “on the cusp” of being a Hall of Fame player.

Barnwell describes “on the cusp” as having already done a majority of the work to end up in Canton and just needing another year or two of solid play. He added, though, players in this category may already have done enough to make the Hall of Fame.

Baker’s one downfall is the lack of playoff experience, because the Cardinals have played past the regular season just once during his nine-year career (138 games played).

The Washington Huskies product has collected more than 100 tackles in six of his nine seasons, including a league-leading 104 solo tackles in 2019.

Baker’s also been a model of consistency, as he’s missed 11 total games across his nine-year career.

Barnwell pointed to the veteran’s consistency, impact and difference-making to compensate for his lack of playoff experience to get him “on the cusp” of being a Hall of Fame player:

Baker has been stuck on some bad teams — the Cardinals have one winning season across his nine years in the league — but Pro Bowl voters have consistently seen him as an impactful and rangy difference-making safety. He has made eight Pro Bowls across that span. Every eligible player with at least 10 Pro Bowl appearances has been enshrined in Canton, so if Baker can earn two more, he should be a lock. One more might even be enough for the 30-year-old.

Baker, 30, is currently under contract through 2027 with the Cardinals and has made the Pro Bowl in seven consecutive seasons. If the 5-foot-10 safety continues his productive play, and Barnwell’s target of 10 Pro Bowls is on par, the Cardinals star could write his name on the ballot before searching for his next contract.

Cardinals’ Trey McBride tabbed in ‘keep it up’ category

Barnwell described tight end Trey McBride’s Hall of Fame chances as “keep it up” after breaking out (touchdown-wise) last season.

The invisible force field that had kept McBride out of the end zone early in his career finally lifted in 2025, as he scored 11 touchdowns, nearly doubling his total over the prior three seasons combined (six). He’s not quite as explosive or elusive after the catch as Travis Kelce was in his prime or Brock Bowers has been so far as a pro, but McBride makes up that for with great hands and massive target shares.

McBride, four years into his career, has cemented himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL over the last two years. The Cardinals star has put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, earned his first two Pro Bowl nods and his first All-Pro honor last season.

Barnwell says if the 26-year-old can keep his play up he would be on track for Canton one day.

Calais Campbell placed in ‘missing out’ group

Barnwell, despite saying he personally would have former Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell in Canton one day, placed the veteran in the “missing out” category.

I’d put Campbell in the Hall of Fame given his production at a position that is often difficult to measure, his versatility along the line of scrimmage, and the sheer length of time he has spent producing as a starting-caliber lineman. Campbell is not quite what he was at his peak, when he made six straight Pro Bowls and racked up 14.5 sacks for the 2017 Jaguars, but he was still beating linemen half his age and making plays for the Cardinals a year ago. Keep in mind that Campbell was on the Cardinals with Kurt Warner, who retired 17 years ago.

Campbell will enter his 18th year in the NFL in 2026, which is an accomplishment in itself. However, the 39-year-old has six trips to the Pro Bowl and one All-Pro season on his resume, which is why Barnwell doesn’t think it’ll be enough for Campbell.

The Cardinals’ 2008 second-round pick played his first nine seasons in Arizona before spending four years in Jacksonville and Baltimore. His best year came in 2017 with the Jaguars when he was an All-Pro and runner-up Defensive Player of the Year.

Campbell returned to Arizona last season as a strong veteran presence in the Cardinals locker room before signing back with the Ravens this offseason.

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