Beaming Budda: Cards’ Baker wants to better in ‘everything’ as a new dad

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker might be one of the last NFL players to need any extra motivation.

Following the birth of his daughter Alani, the safety understandably has a new view on life as he begins his new journey as a first-time father more determined than ever to be the best version of himself.

“For me, just having a whole other mouth to feed, a whole other human to take care of,” a beaming Baker said Wednesday. “For me, it makes me want to work harder in whatever I do, whether that’s being a better father, a better football player, being a better friend, a better brother, everything goes in along those lines of that. Just trying to better at everything.

“I love football, it’s my job, it’s the work that I do and I’m always gonna love it and I’m always gonna want to play at a high level and be at a high level in my sport. But when you think about it, every other aspect has to be trying to get better at every other aspect as well.”

This certainly isn’t the first time an NFL player has become a father mid-season. Baker isn’t the only Cardinal to add to his respective family this season, with kicker Matt Prater welcoming another little one earlier in the year.

But just how much does a new addition impact a player on the field?

“I’m not sure, but Budda … is a big family man, he always has been with his mother and his sister,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “He’s got a big family so I don’t see him changing. Obviously, as a man having your first child, it does change you because your responsibility to someone’s life is huge.

“For me, it worked in my favor. Just makes you more focused, grows you up, you take less chances in life because you have a baby girl at home. That’s huge. So I think for Budda, he wants to be a father, he’s serious about it and he’s happy.”

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