Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was not the only veteran missing from the start of Cardinals OTAs on Monday.
Safety Budda Baker was also missing from the voluntary work and it wasn’t a great surprise on either front. Hopkins has been the subject of much trade speculation this offseason and Baker recently requested a trade away from Arizona.
General Manager Monti Ossenfort said in April that the team has had productive conversations with Baker, but head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t offer much of an update on where things stand during a press conference on Monday.
“I think Budda will show up when he wants to show up,” Gannon said, via PHNX Sports “He’s been awesome. He kinda wears us out a little bit with the tape and different things like that. He’s working, he’ll get himself ready to play.”
Moving Baker and/or Hopkins would leave Gannon with less talent on hand for his first season in his new job, but it would also leave them with even more draft assets to go with next year’s pair of first-round picks as they try to build toward sustained success in the future.