{"id":231907,"date":"2025-05-08T09:15:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=231907"},"modified":"2025-05-08T09:15:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:15:26","slug":"colts-signing-joe-bachie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/05\/08\/colts-signing-joe-bachie\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Colts Made a Great Move Signing Cincinnati Linebacker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many were wondering who the Colts would sign at linebacker this offseason, but no one was expecting it would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BachJo01.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Bachie<\/a>. On Wednesday, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/news\/colts-sign-lb-joe-bachie\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">officially announced<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> linebacker Joe Bachie signed with the Colts. The 6-2, 235-lb playmaker has a new home and will look to impact a Colts defense that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/04\/07\/the-colts-need-to-address-the-weak-defensive-line\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">needed depth<\/a> at linebacker. Bachie spent the last four years with the Bengals, and all five years, he was under Lou Anarumo&#8217;s coaching. Although Bachie is not a high-profile starting linebacker or even a known backup, he is a solid depth piece. His most productive season came in 2021 during the Bengals&#8217; Super Bowl run. It was in this year that he had two starts and accumulated 18 solo tackles. Again, Bachie will not be a starting linebacker in Indy, but he has shown that he can make plays when called upon.<\/p>\n<p>There are several reasons why adding a depth piece like Bachie will prove to be a good move for the Colts.<\/p>\n<h1>Why Signing Joe Bachie Was a Great Move<\/h1>\n<h3>His Relationship With Lou Anarumo<\/h3>\n<p>The biggest reason acquiring Joe Bachie was a good move is due to his relationship with defensive coordinator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/news\/lou-anarumo-blitzes-coverage-schemes-tackling-fixes-new-defensive-coordinator-cincinnati-bengals\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lou Anarumo<\/a>. Earlier this year, the Colts parted ways with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/04\/gus-bradley-should-be-fired-by-the-colts\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Gus Bradley<\/a> and brought in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/22\/colts-fans-should-be-optimistic-about-lou-anarumo\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lou Anarumo<\/a> to lead the defense. Anarumo has an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/news\/lou-anarumo-blitzes-coverage-schemes-tackling-fixes-new-defensive-coordinator-cincinnati-bengals\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unconventional approach<\/a> to coaching defense. In an interview, one of his former players stated that Anarumo was a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/35532675\/mad-scientist-lou-anarumo-man-bengals-defense\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mad scientist<\/a>&#8220;. Unlike Gus Bradley, who sticks to one type of defense, Anarumo is all over the place. Therefore, having a guy like Joe Bachie, who played under him for four seasons, will be huge. Not only will it provide some familiarity, but it will also allot some mentorship to the younger guys in this kind of scheme.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_231960\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-231960\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-231960 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25117622-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-231960\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo takes the field before the first quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>His Presence on the Depth Chart<\/h3>\n<p>Another big reason why Joe Bachie was a good signing by the Colts is that he can be a solid depth piece who can blossom into a rotation player. This offseason, the Colts lost <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/29\/e-j-speed-signs-contract-houston-texans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">E.J. Speed<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/14\/lions-next-steps-following-busy-day-of-free-agency\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Grant Stuard<\/a>. Therefore, they needed to find some more depth as they did not get that in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/04\/28\/colts-missed-on-linebacker-in-2025-nfl-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">draft<\/a>. Anarumo is expected to scheme his defense differently than what is conventional, but the linebackers will still play a big role. This is why getting some depth to support <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/F\/FranZa00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zaire Franklin<\/a> is huge.<\/p>\n<h3>His Effect on the Colts&#8217; Cap Space<\/h3>\n<p>There were <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/11\/the-colts-need-to-get-trey-hendrickson-back-with-lou-anarumo\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">talks<\/a> that potentially the Colts might be interested in Joe Bachie&#8217;s former teammate, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/tag\/trey-hendrickson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Trey Hendrickson<\/a>. While Hendrickson is a top-tier edge rusher, the price it would take to get him would&#8217;ve been too much. Instead, the Colts got some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">edge rush talent<\/a> in the draft. Bachie is nowhere near as talented at his position as Hendrickson is at his. Nonetheless, Bachie, being a free agent, will not hurt the Colts&#8217; cap space and will provide wiggle room to get more talent.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the Colts have had a tremendous offseason in 2025. They have addressed some of their biggest needs and acquired the talent to fill glaring voids. Now, everything just needs to come together during the season.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Albert Cesare\/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Indianapolis Colts made another great offseason move by signing Joe Bachie, who will fill a void in the middle of the defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5012,"featured_media":231961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,54,36],"tags":[7800,33540,4817],"class_list":["post-231907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colts","category-editorials","category-nfl-news","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-joe-bachie","tag-lou-anarumo"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231907"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231962,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231907\/revisions\/231962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}