Pre-draft Baker attended the
NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. He participated at Washington's
Pro Day and only ran positional drills for over 50 NFL team representatives and scouts. The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected Baker to be a second round pick. Teams were impressed by his performance but were concerned his lack of size could affect his ability to play in the NFL. He was ranked the top nickelback available in the draft by NFL analyst
Mike Mayock, was ranked the second best free safety prospect by NFLDraftScout.com, and the fourth best safety in the draft by
Sports Illustrated and
ESPN.
2017 The
Arizona Cardinals selected Baker in the second round (36th overall) of the
2017 NFL draft. The Cardinals traded their 2017 second-round (45th overall), fourth-round (119th overall), and seventh-round (197th overall) picks to the
Chicago Bears in return for the 36th overall pick to draft Baker and also received a seventh-round pick (221st overall). He was the fourth safety selected in 2017 and one of three Washington defensive backs selected, along with
Kevin King and
Sidney Jones. On May 25, 2017, the Cardinals signed Baker to a four–year, $6.83 million
rookie contract that included $3.88 million guaranteed and an initial
signing bonus of $3.10 million. Due to NFL's rules for colleges who follow quarters systems, Baker was unable to attend
organized team activities or
minicamp until the University of Washington's graduation day. He impressed coaches throughout training camp and was named the backup free safety to
Tyrann Mathieu to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Cardinals' season-opener at the
Detroit Lions and made one tackle in their 35–23 loss. On November 19, 2017, Baker earned his first career start after
Tyvon Branch suffered a torn
ACL the previous week. In his first career start, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (11 solo), deflected two passes, and made his first career sack during a 31–21 loss at the
Houston Texans in Week 11. On December 19, 2017, Baker was one of four Cardinals named to the
2018 Pro Bowl as a special teamer. In Week 16, he tied his season-high of 13 combined tackles (eight solo) and broke up a pass in the Cardinals' 23–0 victory against the
New York Giants. He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 74 combined tackles (58 solo) and seven pass deflections in 16 games and seven starts. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned first team All-Pro honors as a rookie. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
2018 On January 1, 2018, head coach
Bruce Arians announced his retirement. On January 22, 2018, the
Arizona Cardinals announced their decision to hire
Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator
Steve Wilks as their head coach. Throughout training camp, Baker competed to be the starting strong safety against
Tre Boston under new defensive coordinator
Al Holcomb. Head coach Steve Wilks named Baker the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety
Antoine Bethea. He was also named the first-team nickelback with Tre Boston taking over at strong safety in packages requiring five defensive backs. In Week 5, Baker collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (11 solo), deflected a pass, and made a sack during a 28–18 win at the
San Francisco 49ers. On October 14, 2018, Baker recorded 11 combined tackles (9 solo) and returned a fumble recovery that
Chandler Jones forced during a sack of
Kirk Cousins 36–yards to score the first touchdown of his career during a 27–17 loss at the
Minnesota Vikings. He was inactive for 2 games (Weeks 11–12) due to a knee injury. He finished the season second on the team with a total of 102 combined tackles (77 solo), two sacks, one pass deflection, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and a touchdown in 14 games and 13 starts.
2019 On January 8, 2019, the
Arizona Cardinals hired
Kliff Kingsbury to be their new head coach. Baker returned to training camp slated as the starting free safety under new defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph. He chose to change his jersey number from No. 36 to No. 32, which he had worn during his collegiate career. Upon joining the Cardinals in 2017, No. 32 was unavailable as it was work by
Tyrann Mathieu. He was named the starting free safety to begin the season and was paired with strong safety
D. J. Swearinger. On October 27, 2019, Baker set a season-high for tackles with 14 combined tackles (7 solo) during a 9–31 loss at the
New Orleans Saints. The following game, Baker recorded 14 combined tackles (11 solo) and set a career-high with 4 pass deflections as the Cardinals lost 25–28 to the
San Francisco 49ers in Week 9. He started a 16 games throughout the
2019 NFL season and finished with a total of 147 combined tackles (104 solo), 6 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and was credited with half a sack in 16 games and starts. He led the NFL in solo tackles. He was named to his second Pro Bowl. He was ranked 97th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
2020 On August 25, 2020, the
Arizona Cardinals signed Baker to a four–year, $59 million
contract extension that included $33.10 million guaranteed, $22.10 million guaranteed upon signing, and also stipulated an initial
signing bonus of $10 million. He entered training camp slated as the
de facto starting free safety. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury named him the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with
Jalen Thompson. On September 10, 2020, Baker started in the Cardinals' season-opener at the
San Francisco 49ers and set a season-high with 15 combined tackles (10 solo) as they won 24–20. He was inactive for the Cardinals' 21–31 loss at the
Carolina Panthers in Week 4 due to an injury to his thumb. His performance earned him the
National Football Conference (NFC) Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 7, he recorded 14 combined tackles (11 solo), broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by
Russell Wilson and returned it for a career-best 90–yards before being tackled by
DK Metcalf before crossing into the endzone during a 37–34 overtime win against the
Seattle Seahawks on
Sunday Night Football. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October after tallying 31 combined tackles (26 solo), two sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble although he only appeared in three of the four games. He finished the
2020 NFL season with a total of 118 combined tackles (90 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, two sacks, and one forced fumble in 15 games and 15 starts. He earned his third Pro Bowl and second first team All-Pro nomination. He was ranked 19th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
2021 On May 3, 2021, it was announced that Baker chose to change his jersey number for the third time in his career from No. 32 to No. 3. This was due to the NFL expanding the
jersey numbers after changing the set rules prior to the
2021 NFL season. He returned as the starting free safety to begin the season, alongside
Jalen Thompson. In Week 5, Baker recorded six combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and had the first career interception thrown by rookie
Trey Lance on the opening drive during a 17–10 victory against the
San Francisco 49ers. On November 7, 2021, he made 7 combined tackles (2 solo), 1 pass deflection, and secured the Cardinals' 31–17 victory at the San Francisco 49ers by intercepting a pass by
Jimmy Garoppolo to wide receiver
Deebo Samuel with 3:10 remaining. On December 5, 2021, Baker recorded 6 combined tackles (4 solo), broke up a pass, and set a career-high with his third interception of the season on a pass by
Andy Dalton to tight end
Cole Kmet during a 33–22 victory at the
Chicago Bears. In Week 16, he set a season-high with 13 combined tackles (7 solo), recorded one pass deflection, and a sack as the Cardinals lost 16–22 against the
Indianapolis Colts. He started all 17 games for the first time in his career and finished with a total of 98 combined tackles (72 solo), 7 pass deflections, a career-high 3 interceptions, and 2 sacks. He earned a third consecutive and fourth overall Pro Bowl nomination. He was ranked 67th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
2022 He entered training camp as the starting strong safety, after defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph chose to switch Jalen Thompson to free safety. On September 11, 2022, Baker started in the
Arizona Cardinals' home-opener against the
Kansas City Chiefs and set a season-high with 13 combined tackles (seven solo) as they lost 21–44. In Week 10, he recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made one pass deflection, and secured a 27–17 victory at the
Los Angeles Rams by intercepting a pass by
John Wolford to wide receiver
Ben Skowronek with 5:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. In Week 15, he recorded seven combined tackles (five solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Brett Rypien to wide receiver
Eric Saubert during a 15–24 loss at the
Denver Broncos. In Week 16, Baker recorded nine combined tackles (six solo) and made a pass deflection before exiting the 16–19 overtime loss against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers late in the fourth quarter due to an injury. On December 28, 2022, the Cardinals officially placed him on
injured reserve for the last two games (Weeks 17–18) after he suffered a fractured shoulder. He finished with 111 combined tackles, two interceptions, seven passes defended, and one forced fumble. He earned his fourth consecutive and fifth nomination to the Pro Bowl. He was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
2023 On February 14, 2023, the
Arizona Cardinals hired
Jonathan Gannon to be their new head coach after firing Kliff Kingsbury. Their new defensive coordinator
Nick Rallis chose to retain Baker and Jalen Thompson as the starting safeties to begin the season. On September 15, 2023, Baker suffered a hamstring injury during practice and remained inactive during a 28–31 loss to the
New York Giants in Week 2. On September 18, 2023, the Cardinals officially placed Baker on injured reserve due to his hamstring injury and he remained inactive for the next four games (Weeks 3–6). On October 21, 2023, he was activated from injured reserve and added back to their active roster. In Week 18, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (eight solo) during a 20–21 loss against the
Seattle Seahawks. He finished the
2023 NFL season with a total of 87 combined tackles (58 solo) in 12 games and 12 starts. He earned a sixth Pro Bowl nomination. He was ranked 89th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.
2024 On December 17, 2024, the Arizona Cardinals signed Baker to a three–year, $54 million contract extension that includes $29.36 million guaranteed, $17.44 million guaranteed upon signing, and an initial
signing bonus of $12.24 million. He returned to training camp as the
de facto starting strong safety. Head coach Jonathan Gannon named him the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with Jalen Thompson. On December 8, 2024, he set a career-high with 18 combined tackles (8 solo) as the Cardinals lost 18–30 against the
Seattle Seahawks. In Week 17, he recorded 7 combined tackles (1 solo) and set a season-high with two pass deflections during a 9–13 loss at the
Los Angeles Rams. He started all 17 games during the
2024 NFL season and finished with a career-high 164 combined tackles (95 solo), five passes defended, two sacks, and one forced fumble. He finished second in the NFL in combined tackles. He earned a seventh Pro Bowl nomination. He received an overall grade of 77.8 from
Pro Football Focus, which ranked 16th amongst 171 qualifying safeties in 2024.
2025 In the 2025 season, Baker finished with 120 total tackles (57 solo), one interception, five passes defended, and one fumble recovery. Baker earned his eighth
Pro Bowl selection in 2025. He also recorded his 1,000th career tackle during the season. ==Career statistics==