INDIANAPOLIS — With the NFL Combine starting in a matter of hours and NFL free agency 8 days away, we can’t overlook other NFL news.

It was announced today that former Lions quarterback Charlie Batch will be inducted into the Eastern Michigan University Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Smile, if you will, but Batch led the Lions to their last playoff appearance in 1999. The Lions drafted him in the second round in 1998 and he was with the team through the 2001 season. He passed for 9,016 yards in that stretch.

Obviously Batch moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers where he won a pair of Super Bowl rings (2006 and 2009) as a backup.

Batch was not the only quarterback who couldn’t make a go of it with the Lions, but he did better than most. And, all the time, he was a nice guy. That must count for something.