# John Maakaron: Maakaron suggests several Lions players could be cut and land on other rosters: linebacker Joe Bachie, defensive linemen Ben Stille and Chris Smith, and running back Sione Vaki.

**Claimed:** Aug 26, 2026
**Pundit:** John Maakaron — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-maakaron
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/onsi/detroit-lions-expect-to-cut-players-who-will-help-other-nfl-teams

4 checkable claims — 4 trade and signing calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

2 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> A few players that could find landing spots elsewhere include lineback Joe Bachie, defensive lineman Ben Stille, defensive lineman Chris Smith and running back Sione Vaki.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Chris Smith to move to Detroit Lions**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Chris Smith, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Joe Bachie to move to Detroit Lions**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Joe Bachie, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Sione Vaki to move to Detroit Lions**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Sione Vaki, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Ben Stille to move to Detroit Lions**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Ben Stille, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Chris Smith — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chris-smith
- Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions
- Joe Bachie — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-bachie
- Sione Vaki — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sione-vaki
- Ben Stille — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ben-stille

## What others said about the same people

- Christian Booher on Anthony Lucas: Booher previews the Lions' Week 9 trip to Miami, predicting Derrick Barnes takes over as the green-dot linebacker in Jack Campbell's absence, Juice Scruggs starts at center, and boldly forecasting Detroit's first defensive touchdown of the season on an Aidan Hutchinson strip-sack recovered and returned by Barnes. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/228a7c0e-608b-4043-a8fa-eb3f8b2c4ce8 (scored 0)
- Pete Prisco on Detroit Lions: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 83.33)
- Evan “Foxy” Fox on Detroit Lions: Foxy predicted a blowout Lions win over the Dolphins by a score of 45-21. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eaf09464-1ce1-44e7-90a0-a02ac2960db9 (scored 66.67)
- Chris Simms on Detroit Lions: Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17eb747a-90b1-472f-bb6d-e71c0c69133a (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on Detroit Lions: Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14c1f8dd-d8ff-498f-b705-4b468ff964f8 (scored 100)
- Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman ranked the 49ers first in their Week 9 top five ahead of Buffalo, Chicago, Jacksonville and Denver, picked every Week 9 game with scores, and gave midseason award picks headlined by Brock Purdy for MVP and Kyle Shanahan for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/97d44ed7-e136-4f44-babc-78b1d8d020ad (scored 80.95)

## More trade and signing calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Chris Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0)
- Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d0fd408a-7dcd-4e50-ac62-6b4510a8a800 (scored 100)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Lazarczyk expects the Raiders to be sellers before the trade deadline, suggesting Kirk Cousins could be dealt back to the Vikings and that benched interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson is a prime candidate to be traded somewhere. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fda03952-2ea6-4919-8114-0ebb127478d1 (scored 100)
- Patricia Traina on J.J. McCarthy: Traina expects defensive tackle to be a top need for the Giants in next year's draft, and suggests the Giants could trade J.J. McCarthy next offseason — or keep both them and Jaxson Dart if the return isn't good enough. They also expect Dart to make a full recovery. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b638ed13-01ca-4ea6-9384-ec7130f912c1 (scored 100)
- Michael David Smith on Keenan Allen: Smith suggests the Colts are likely to grant Josh Downs' trade request given their contract situation and their recent sell-off, and that they could also try to trade Keenan Allen. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/52d7108f-f754-44e8-9bf3-cc3336b4e5f7 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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