The Colts have added a linebacker who has experience playing under their new defensive coordinator.
Indianapolis announced on Wednesday that the club has signed free agent Joe Bachie.
Bachie, 27, spent the last four seasons with Cincinnati with now-Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
He was primarily a special teams contributor for the Bengals, on the field for about 66 percent of the unit’s snaps in games played over the past two years. But back in 2021, Bachie did start two games for Cincinnati.
Bachie has played a total of 51 games with two starts for Philadelphia and Cincinnati since 2020.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson missed the final five games on injured reserve last season after tearing an abductor muscle Dec. 1.
McPherson now has incorporated his rehab regimen into his offseason work as he seeks to remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible. The new routine, which includes massage and chiropractor sessions, has added somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour to his work day.
“Health is the most important thing I’m focusing on. I can’t play this game if I’m hurt,’ McPherson said, via Geoff Hobson of the team website. “This offseason, I’m trying to figure out more ways to strengthen the small muscles that I had problems with and just continue to do that. With all that work in strengthening it, I’m making sure I’m back stronger than ever. Training those little muscles you don’t even think about.”
McPherson also is working to bounce back from a career-worst season when he made only 72.7 percent of his kicks. He was 16-of-22 on field goals and missed an extra point.
Last season dropped McPherson’s career field goal percentage from 83.9 to 81.7.
“I attribute a lot of last year more to mental and not physical. During practice and pregame, I was hitting the ball really well. Then in the game, it didn’t happen,” McPherson said. “That’s also something I’m working on. One clear thought: Make the kick. As I go through my steps on the snap and hold, it’s clear my mind and let my body take over.”
Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s long push for a new contract ended in March when he signed a four-year extension with the Bengals that made him the leagu’e best-paid non-quarterback.
Chase set the stage for that pact by putting up 127 catches for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns during the 2024 season and putting a bow on one of the most prolific four-year starts to a career in NFL history. Neither that production nor the new contract has Chase feeling like he can rest on his laurels in 2025.
Chase said that he has “a lot” of goals left, including the championships that have eluded him to this point in his career. In addition to that team success, Chase said he has eyes on getting “better at everything I can do,” which means he has to raise the bar even higher than it was already set.
“There are expectations, the standard is high,” Chase said, via the team’s website. “Just have fun and play my game, but also know I’m holding myself to a higher standard now. Higher than whatever it was.”
The Bengals will need more than Chase to reach the kind of collective success that the wideout has in mind, but even bigger things from him in 2025 won’t hurt their chances of making it back to the postseason.
Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill is at the team’s workout on Tuesday, but he’s not ready for full participation.
Multiple reporters at the Bengals facility passed along word that Hill is an observer because of a walking boot on his lower left leg. It’s not clear what injury has led Hill to don the protective device, but Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com notes that Hill was not wearing it during an open locker room period last week.
Hill signed a three-year deal to stay with the Bengals in March. He has been with the team since 2021.
Hill appeared in 15 games last season and had 56 tackles and three sacks in those contests.
Bengals safety Geno Stone will remain with Cincinnati in 2025 on a reduced contract.
Per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Stone has accepted a pay cut for the coming year.
Initially slated to make $6.475 million in 2025, Stone has agreed to a $4.9 million deal with $1.5 million guaranteed.
Stone, 26, signed with Cincinnati last offseason on a two-year deal as a free agent. He started all 17 games for the club, recording six passes defensed with four interceptions.
A seventh-round pick in 2020, Stone played his first four seasons with the Ravens. He has 12 career picks in 68 games.
