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Source: Bengals to release longtime LB Pratt

  • Ben BabyJun 9, 2025, 01:24 PM ET

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      Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).

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