Source: Bengals to release longtime starting LB Germaine Pratt

CINCINNATI — A longtime Cincinnati Bengals starting defender is looking for a new team for the upcoming season.

Cincinnati will release linebacker Germaine Pratt on Tuesday, a source confirmed to ESPN. The move comes ahead of the team’s mandatory minicamp, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday.

Pratt has been a starter in each of the past six seasons and was an instrumental part of the team’s back-to-back AFC North titles and AFC championship appearances in 2021 and 2022.

NFL Network first reported news of Pratt’s release.

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Pratt, 29, was set to enter the final year of a three-year contract extension he signed in 2023. While the Bengals will incur a $2.3 million dead cap charge with Pratt’s release, they will gain $5.9 million in savings on the 2025 cap.

Pratt was one of the longest-tenured Bengals on the roster. Pratt and tight end Drew Sample were the only members of the team’s 2019 draft class who were still with the club. A third-round pick out of North Carolina State, Pratt started in 88 of his 96 appearances with the Bengals.

The parting of ways was inevitable given how the offseason transpired. First, Pratt requested a trade following the firing of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who was quickly hired by the Indianapolis Colts for the same role. Then in April, Cincinnati drafted two linebackers — South Carolina’s Demetrius Knight Jr. and Clemson’s Barrett Carter, in the second and fourth rounds, respectively.

Knight was immediately slotted as a potential starting option in place of Pratt, who did not report to any of the team’s voluntary workouts.

“He’s going to walk in the door and fight for a way to contribute immediately,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said when Knight was drafted. “I’m fired up to watch that happen.”

Last season, Pratt led the team with 143 total tackles. He also had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. However, as a whole, the defense struggled and was the primary reason Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the second straight season and spoiled career years from quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

Throughout his career with the Bengals, Pratt had eight interceptions in all competitions, including one of the most pivotal plays in franchise history. In the 2021 wild-card playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Pratt had a goal-line interception in a 26-19 win over the Raiders that sealed the team’s first playoff victory in 31 seasons.