No Holdouts as Cardinals Stars Present at Camp

Budda Baker and James Conner are entering the final year of their contracts, but are still well at work in the desert.

GLENDALE -- As NFL training camps begin across the league and players sit out for contract reasons, the Arizona Cardinals were at full participation for their first practice.

Stars such as Budda Baker and James Conner are both entering the final years of their deal - though both were present and participating in drills at State Farm Stadium.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon was asked about Baker's future before pushing away those talks and focusing on the present:

"He got up and talked last night. Off the cuff. He's everything we're about. He practices the right way, he prepares the right way.," Gannon said of Baker, who has been the heart and soul of Arizona's defense before and during Gannon's tenure in Arizona.

"You should hear him in meetings - asks a ton of questions. He probably knows the answer but he's asking the question because his buddy doesn't want to ask the question. He's a phenomenal person and he's phenomenal player. So I'm glad three's with us and he's going to play a big part in what we do this year."

Conner - who just crossed the 1,000-yard rushing barrier for the first time in his career - offered the following on Baker's leadership.

"It's huge. Budda's been a guy who has done it right year after year after year. When he talks, guys listen. He's been a captain every year for a reason and he's our tone-setter for sure."

- James Conner on Budda Baker

On a personal level, Conner said he was looking forward to training camp's arrival:

"It's fun, I was looking forward the whole offseason just to get back to camp and be around all the guys. Just take it day by day and get better - it was a good first day."

There's been no rumblings of contract talks for either leader, at least on the outside. Last offseason we saw Baker submit a trade request before getting his re-worked deal in the hours prior to camp starting.

No new deal for Baker - or Conner - as 2024's iteration begins.

"It'd be awesome to finish my career here, but no, nothing changes. If anything, it's time to turn it up even more going into my last year of the deal," Conner said this offseason.

With the Cardinals selecting Trey Benson as the second running back off the board in the 2024 draft, many speculated Conner (who is close to the dreaded age of 30 for running backs) could be playing his final year in Arizona.

"Thankful I got the chance to see the last year of it, so I'll go into it, give everything I got this year and see what happens next year. Hopefully [I will] stay but I understand the business."

As for Baker, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort shuffled his deal around last year to afford Baker more guaranteed money without extending his deal.

"No matter what, no matter who's there, who's coaching, I'm gonna do my job and I'm gonna be that person to other guys [so they] can look on as well and ask questions too. Of course I want to be a Cardinal but at the end of the day I understand it's a business," Baker said previously on his situation.

"... That's the main thing, keeping that the main thing - help this football team right now. Every year it changes."

It wouldn't be a surprise to see either player extended at some point before the regular season. It also wouldn't be a shock to see Arizona roll the dice on 2024 and see where they stand after the dust settles on this season.

The future is a bit cloudy - but when it's time to shine, two of the Cardinals' most prominent players on and off the field are present and working.