Budda Baker out for the season (shoulder fracture) following decision to keep playing vs Buccaneers

When the season is not going your way, for some, it is easy to tap out and not put forth much effort as it winds down and let the chips fall as they may. Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is not that kind of player. NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed on Monday that Baker played through a season-ending injury in the Cardinals’ Sunday night loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Cardinals Pro Bowl S Budda Baker, one of the heartbeats of the team and its captain, suffered a fractured shoulder during the loss last night and is out the final two games, per me and Mike Garafolo. Unbelievably, he did not come out of the game,” said Rapoport via Twitter.

It is unclear when Baker suffered the injury. Still, he was able to compose himself and battle through the pain in Arizona’s 19-16 overtime loss. The Pro Bowl safety showed his dedication to his team and the game fighting through to compete despite the Cardinals being eliminated from the playoffs.

Baker’s season ends with two games remaining on the schedule for Arizona. The former Washington Husky will end the year with 111 total tackles, 75 solo, seven passes defended, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.

Baker and Cards D shines, offense continues to struggle without Murray

Arizona’s defense showed up and battled Tampa Bay’s offense, forcing Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady to search for different solutions to pull out the victory. The Cardinals picked off Brady twice in the game and suffocated the Buccaneers’ offense on third down. Arizona allowed just six conversions on third down on 17 attempts. Unfortunately, Arizona’s offense struggled to finish drives with touchdowns without star quarterback Kyler Murray, who was also lost for the season after tearing his ACL. Arizona had to rely on the leg of kicker Matt Prater to keep them in the contest. Prater went four for four on kick attempts for the night, making three field goals and one extra point attempt.

The Achilles heel of the Cardinals’ quest for victory against the Buccaneers was the ball security of quarterback Trace McSorley. McSorley had one interception on the night, along with two fumbles lost. His interception came at a critical time when Arizona was driving down the field late in the fourth quarter, attempting to take the lead and win the game.

The Cardinals dropped to 4-11 on the season and, at this point, are hoping not to endure any additional season-ending injuries to their star players.