Germaine

Pratt

Head coach Pete Carroll said during the Raiders’ Monday presser that Pratt has been let go. The veteran linebacker joined the Raiders on a one-year deal this offseason after spending the first six years of his career with the Bengals. Pratt totaled 25 tackles and one TFL in four starts with the Raiders this season, but didn’t join the team in Indy for Week 5 due to non-injury reasons. Carroll declined to get into why the Raiders released Pratt, opting to leave it at the team deciding to go in another direction. Pratt is 29 and has 92 career starts under his belt. He will likely catch on with another team in the coming days/weeks.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Pratt’s deal includes another $500K in incentives. Pratt was expected to be a cap casualty for the Bengals and requested a trade. Nothing materialized and Cincy cut him earlier this week. Pratt started all 17 games for the Bengals last year. He played nearly every snap on defense and led the team with 143 combined tackles. Pratt is a safe bet to start for the Raiders this season.

A six-year vet of the league and 2024 team captain, Pratt, 29, now hits the open market. Coming off a season in which he amassed a career-high 143 tackles and two interceptions, Pratt is a stat sheet stuffer who was entering the final year of his deal and clearly not considered to be worth the $8.183 million he was set to earn in 2025. His release saved the Bengals $5.850 million against the cap this season.

Pratt earned a starting role with the Bengals as a rookie in 2019 and never gave it up. He has started 77 regular season games plus seven postseason contests for the Bengals over the past five years. Pratt led the team with 143 tackles in 2024. He also tallied two forced fumbles, recovered fumbles, and interceptions in what might have been his final year in Cincinnati. According to Rapoport, Pratt was close with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo before he was fired at the end of the season. He is also about to enter the final year of his contract, and the Bengals have prioritized spending on offense in recent years. It may be best for both sides if the veteran linebacker is traded. The Bengals can also clear $5.9 million in space if no trade partner is found and they choose to cut Pratt.

Pratt will earn $10.35 million in the first year of his deal according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The former third-round pick has started 54 games for the Bengals since joining the team in 2019, totaling 355 tackles, 20 TFLs, and three INTs. Pratt earned an impressive 90.1 PFF coverage grade last season, which led all linebackers.

With Pratt under contract, the Bengals have now signed their entire 2019 draft class. The High Point, North Carolina native led NC State with 104 tackles as a senior in 2018 while garnering first-team All-ACC honors.

Pratt (6’3/240) began his college career at safety before moving to linebacker for his final two seasons and breaking out as a senior for 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks while finishing second among ACC linebackers in QB pressures (26). Pratt tested just above par at the Combine with 52nd-percentile SPARQ results and 4.57 speed. Experienced inside and outside with obvious coverage skills from his days in the secondary, Pratt projects as an early-career starter at off-ball linebacker.

Pratt (6’3/240) began his college career at safety before moving to linebacker for his final two seasons and breaking out as a senior for 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks while finishing second among ACC linebackers in QB pressures (26). Pratt tested just above par at the Combine with 52nd-percentile SPARQ results and 4.57 speed. Experienced inside and outside with obvious coverage skills from his days in the secondary, Pratt projects as an early-career starter at off-ball linebacker.

Miller believes that Pratt is worth second-round consideration, and believes he has a chance to be a starter at the next level. One of the reasons for this is Pratt’s ability in coverage, as the 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker is a former safety and it shows. He does note that Pratt can struggle to disengage, and there’s really only one year of production. “Pratt might need some time to develop,” writes Miller, “but you can get him on the field right away thanks to his coverage ability and range.”

Linebackers who struggle in coverage aren’t very valuable in 2019 with the new wave of offense coaches game planning better than ever. That’s great news for Pratt (6'2/240), who began his collegiate career as a safety before adding weight and transitioning into a coverage linebacker role. Pratt doesn’t have elite speed (4.57-second forty), but his play in zone coverage is “pretty” and he has the instincts to come downhill, as well. Even if Pratt isn’t a three-down linebacker, he can still be a valuable part of an NFL defense and he’s not expected to cost a first round pick either.