Zac TIt remains to be seen what the Cincinnati Bengals will do with Trey Hendrickson. But one teammate spoke in his favor. Meanwhile, were the Bengals thinking about Hendrickson when they surprisingly released their leading tackler ahead of mandatory minicamp?
Turning loose Germaine Pratt saves the team money, according to posts on X by Tom Pelissero.
The #Bengals are releasing veteran LB Germaine Pratt today, per sources.
Pratt ranked in the top 10 in the NFL last season in tackles and was a team captain. Now, he hits the open market.
Releasing Germaine Pratt saves the #Bengals $5.6 million in cash and 2025 cap space
Bengals were on the outs with LB Germaine Pratt
The 29-year-old Pratt asked for a trade back in February. A third-round pick in 2019, Pratt had a nice season in 2024. He totaled 143 tackles with five for loss. Also, he added four quarterback hits, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
It may be an odd move for the Bengals, who are already defensively starved. This is a team that is supposed to have Super Bowl aspirations. So, it’s hard to understand letting a productive player in the middle of the field walk away.
Cincinnati’s linebacker room now has Logan Wilson in the starting spot in the middle. Rookie Demetrius Knight Jr. and Oren Burks are tabbed as starters on the outside of the 4-3 approach.
Also, it’s odd that the Bengals felt they could make this move when they didn’t get a player in front of the linebacker position during the draft.
“I think that’s something you’re always looking at,” head coach Zac Taylor said about the trenches after the draft. “At different points in the draft, hit us in other spots. And so again, undrafted free agency still coming, we’ll work hard to add some guys to the mix there. We feel good about the four guys we have in the room right now. We feel good about how you can utilize some of the defensive ends in the known passing situations as well.”
The Bengals signed Notre Dame DL Howard Cross III and Arkansas DT Eric Gregory after the draft.
So, the Bengals’ defense has more question marks after a particularly uninspiring 2024 effort.
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