The Detroit Lions entered this week with two open spots on the 53-man roster. The Lions filled one of them with veteran linebacker Joe Bachie.
On the team’s official X account, the Lions announced they signed Bachie to the active roster. Bachie is back in Detroit after the team cut him as part of their roster reduction on the league’s cutdown day on August 30.
The Lions also announced a few other roster moves. The team placed offensive guard Mason Miller on the practice squad injury list. Finally, the Lions signed center Seth McLaughlin and running back Jabari Small to their practice squad Monday.
Detroit possessed two open roster spots on the active roster because the team waived McLaughlin and Small on September 2.
Bachie spent the entire offseason and preseason with the Lions. He signed with the team in NFL free agency on April 29.
Over six NFL seasons, Bachie has played in 66 NFL games for the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans. In 2025, he split the campaign with the Colts and Titans.
Detroit will host the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 on Sunday, September 13. Kickoff for the game will occur at 1 pm ET at Ford Field.
Lions Re-Sign LB Joe Bachie Before Week 1
Campbell told reporters Monday he had a pretty good idea of what the team was going to do with their open roster spots. But the head coach declined to offer any more details.
The cat is out of the bag on one of the roster spots.
With Bachie, the Lions have brought back an experienced NFL linebacker. He’s spent most of his career playing special teams, but he’s also made seven NFL starts. Five of those starts came last season with the Colts.
In 15 games with Indianapolis and Tennessee, Bachie had 29 combined tackles and one pass defense last year.
Bachie is now one of seven linebackers the Lions have listed on their roster. The other six include Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Trevor Nowaske, Jimmy Rolder, and Devin White.
As an All-Pro caliber player, Campbell obviously leads the group. Barnes and Rodriguez are long-time Lions contributors while White is a former top 5 pick who could add another dynamic playmaker to the linebacker corps. Detroit is also excited about what Rolder could provide after a strong preseason.
In his career, Bachie has 77 combined tackles and two pass defenses. He posted a career-high 30 combined tackles, including 18 solos during the 2021 campaign.
Lions Bring Back C Seth McLaughlin, RB Jabari Small on Practice Squad
Bachie wasn’t the only player the Lions brought back Monday. Although it was with the practice squad, Detroit re-signed both McLaughlin and Small, who both were on Detroit’s active roster until the end of last week.
With the August injury to projected starting center Cade Mays, the Lions technically don’t have a center on the active roster. Pundits expect Juice Scruggs to start at center to begin the regular season.
McLaughlin returns to provide valuable center depth. He won’t be active on game days, but the Lions could easily turn to McLaughlin as a practice squad elevation if Scruggs can’t dress.
The Lions have more depth at running back with Jahmyr Gibbs, Jacob Taylor’s and Sione Vaki on the active roster. But the Lions could promote Small from the practice squad as well for addition backfield help.
At the University of Tennessee, Small posted 2,369 yards from scrimmage while averaging 5.1 yards per rush from 2020-23. Ironically, he began his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans. But Small has mostly been with the Lions since July 2025.
He finished last season where he will begin this campaign — on the Lions practice squad.
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