Vic Fangio Explains Decision to End 'Emotional Roller Coaster' with CB De'Vante Bausby
The Curious Case of De'Vante Bausby reached a tipping point on Oct. 24 when the Denver Broncos surprisingly released the veteran cornerback. It reached a melting point within the fan base on Oct. 30, when he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals — and old friend Vance Joseph — officially ending, so we thought, a too-brief tenure of an understatedly impressive player.
But the Football Gods had other designs.
Arizona waived Bausby on Nov. 9, giving the Broncos an opportunity to right a wrong, not to mention shore up a secondary that had just gotten torched by the Atlanta Falcons. And so they did, fortuitously claiming him off waivers the following day.
Bausby figures to remain parked on Denver's 53-man roster for the remainder of the season, and many argue he never should have left in the first place. Which begs the question: Why cut the guy?
Head coach Vic Fangio danced around the topic when asked Friday but did state the obvious that Bausby is glad to end his "emotional roller coaster" with the team that plucked him from the AAF scrap heap.
“Obviously, we released him here. We wanted to put him on practice squad for the week but he had the opportunity to go to Arizona. He took it," Fangio said. "I think he was there for 10 days, played a little bit in one game, they released him and then we claimed him after they released him. When he first went there, I did communicate with him. I’ve known ‘Baus’ know for several years because I was with him in Chicago and we’ve kept a good relationship. I haven’t asked him this, but I think he’s happy to be back.”
Roller coasters, though, have fewer ups and downs than what he's experienced this year, in his recovery from a scary, temporarily-immobilizing neck injury that cut short his standout 2019 campaign. The Broncos opted not to tender Bausby, a restricted free agent, before ultimately re-signing him incrementally cheaper ($825,000). Then they released him at final cuts. Then he was given another chance — albeit on the practice squad — as the front office chose to retain the likes of Davontae Harris (since released), Duke Dawson, and undrafted rookie Essang Bassey on the regular-season squad.
The last meaningful thing Bausby did for the Broncos prior to receiving his walking papers? Break up a pass in the waning moments of their victory over the Patriots. Other than that, he's contributed five tackles across a meager 81 defensive snaps, or just 12.88% of the unit's total snaps.
"Corner is a position that when we had the chance to get ‘Baus’ back—we really didn’t want to cut him. It was a roster crunch with injuries, special teams, COVID issues. We’re happy to have him back and we’ll get him back in there in the mix," Fangio said on Nov. 11.
Despite his formal return, Bausby was ineligible to play in Week 10 due to COVID-19 testing protocols. But Fangio, after rightfully chopping Harris, confirmed the 27-year-old is expected to dress for Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins.
“He will be. He will be available," he said Wednesday.
Now comes the most important step: Not making the same mistake twice.
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