Roster cut day has taken its toll on hundreds of NFL hopefuls around the league and unfortunately that includes some former Michigan State stars, too.
Earlier on Sunday, the Falcons announced their roster cuts and both Nate Carter and Jack Velling were let go. They made their case during the preseason, but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons decided to move forward with just two running backs (crazy, I know) and three tight ends. There’s a decent chance that they’re signed to the practice squad.
Unfortunately, Joe Bachie was also cut by the Lions after earning some praise from Dan Campbell during training camp. He was one of nine NFL veterans who were released by the Lions on Sunday and they waived two dozen others.
He made his case with a really impressive preseason finale, earning the fourth-highest PFF defensive grade against the Colts. It was too little too late as the Lions were already planning on cutting him.
This obviously wasn’t an easy decision for Campbell and the Lions because Bachie has talent and he’s been around multiple teams so he knows what it takes to make a roster. He’s going to be just fine because of the tools he has. Bachie isn’t the craziest athlete, but he makes plays and he has a high football IQ and commands respect from his teammates. Guys like that stick around for a while.
Heck, it’s why Bachie has carved out a six-year pro career after going undrafted in 2020.
This won’t be the last we see of Bachie in the NFL.
Roster cut day is nothing new to Joe Bachie
While he probably doesn’t like to admit it, Bachie is very familiar with roster cut day and he’s been on the wrong side of these moves more often than not. But he’s stuck it out and it’s always paid off.
All it takes is an injury or two — which is unfortunately likely because it’s the Lions — for Bachie to get the call from Campbell to join the active roster. It was clear after hearing Campbell talk about Bachie a couple of weeks ago that the Lions’ head coach really likes him as a player. So if a linebacker goes down, Bachie may be the first call.
Like I said, he’s going to be just fine. If he doesn’t work out with the Lions and the practice squad, another team will pick him up. He’s stuck around this long for a reason.
There’s still good years of football left in Bachie. There’s juice in the tank.
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