Tag: Germaine Pratt

Germaine Pratt gives amazing reason for re-signing with Bengals

Bengals fans will want to see this one.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt chose to stay with the Bengals in free agency for a few key reasons.

Pratt, the lone bright spot on an opening day of free agency that saw the team lose Jessie Bates and veteran leader Vonn Bell, says it all came down to contending and loyalty.

“We’re one play away, so why wouldn’t you want to stay? We’re close. It was a fact. I want to win,” Pratt said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I’m big on loyalty. They gave me an opportunity when I got in the league, so why would I try to leave for a team that wasn’t as successful for more money? I didn’t feel right about that.”

The implication that Pratt turned down extra money with other teams is something fans should love, too.

At the end of the day, Pratt has been one of those locker room leaders who has played a key role in the turnaround and he wants to see the mission through. As we broke down in our instant analysis, he’s improved every single year, too.

Given Pratt’s commitment and reasoning, he’s bound to remain a fan favorite well beyond this new three-year deal.

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Bengals fans, teammates call for B.J. Hill to go bald after Germaine Pratt deal

It’s baldin’ time for B.J. Hill, say teammates and fans.

We called it a dangerous bet at the time, and now Cincinnati Bengals teammates and fans want to see B.J. Hill pay up.

Hill jokingly took to social media right before free agency’s legal tampering window started on Monday and said he would go bald if teammate Germaine Pratt re-signed with the team.

Well…Pratt re-signed on Monday, inking a three-year deal with the team.

Fans and teammates celebrated the unexpected bit of news, of course — then Hill’s tweet started circulating again.

Here’s a look at everyone quickly recalling Hill’s comment and some of the best reactions to the Pratt news overall.

Instant analysis after Bengals surprise by re-signing Germaine Pratt

Instant analysis of the big free-agency move for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals threw out a mild surprise on Monday in free agency by bringing back linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Surprise, because all signs seemed to suggest Pratt would test the market and potentially make more money elsewhere while finding a team that would let him play more third downs.

Instead, Pratt goes back to the Bengals on a three-year pact.

And based on the numbers from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, it’s an affordable one for the team too — Pratt gets $10.35 million in Year 1 and $15.15 million over two years. No word on the cap hit in each of those years, but this is quite a bit lower than what the open market could have inflated his price to be. Lesser-than-expected deals for other ‘backers before Pratt did his deal surely played a role.

As it stands now, there’s a chance the contract doesn’t hurt the team’s ability to eventually do an extension with Logan Wilson, either.

Overall, it’s a fantastic move for the Bengals at a good price. Pratt is one of the league’s top coverage linebackers when he’s on the field. He’s improved year-to-year and just played a career-high 76 percent of the snaps, earning an 80.6 PFF grade.

Pratt probably isn’t going to see a further bump in playing time, but he got a respectable deal compared to the market and gets to stick with a contender. Fans, of course, get to see the strong linebacker corps stick together and Pratt, the guy who picked off the Raiders to end the playoff drought, sticks in town.

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Bengals re-sign Germaine Pratt to 3-year deal

Germaine Pratt has made his move in free agency.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Germaine Pratt have agreed to an extension.

Pratt spent nearly three hours on the market of the legal tampering window before agreeing to a three-year deal worth $21 million, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

A third-round pick by the Bengals in 2019 out of NC State, Pratt drummed up 355 total tackles, one forced fumble, 1.5 sacks and three interceptions — including that playoff-drought ending one — over four seasons.

A reunion with Pratt seemed unlikely for a Bengals team attempting to shift more money to the offense. He just had the best season of his career, too, improving in coverage and playing a career-high 76 percent of the snaps. His desire to play more third-downs was well-known.

Instead, Pratt and the Bengals do a nice deal for both parties and keep defensive continuity going.

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B.J. Hill makes bold bet on Germaine Pratt re-signing with Bengals

B.J. Hill takes a bold stance on Germaine Pratt re-signing with the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill has made it clear he wants the team to bring back free-agent linebacker Germaine Pratt.

That seems unlikely, given Pratt’s breakout season last year and the Bengals wanting to spend more money on the offensive side of the ball via extensions.

If the Bengals end up losing Pratt to the open market, current names on the depth chart such as Akeem-Davis Gaither and Markus Bailey could step in as opposed to the team bringing on outsiders.

Still, despite what has the feel of an obvious split, Hill isn’t giving up. So much so, he put down what feels like an almost dangerous bet on Pratt returning — with the linebacker even offering a funny response to it:

Funnily enough, Tee Higgins weighed in on the topic too:

We’ll see if Hill holds up his end of the bargain if the mini-upset of Pratt returning to the Bengals happens.

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Giants likely to prioritize ILB in free agency

The New York Giants are expected to prioritize inside linebacker in free agency and could target someone like T.J. Edwards.

The NFL’s legal tampering window opens on Monday at 12:00 p.m. ET with the new league year beginning on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

That means things are about to heat up for the New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen, who will have much more money to work with this year.

But the Giants also have several roster holes they need to fill ahead of the 2023 NFL draft and while many expect them to focus on wide receiver, that may not be the case. Rather, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan believes they will prioritize inside linebacker — a position we at Giants Wire have harped on for the past two months.

“The position I heard most (about) the Giants shopping near the top was inside linebacker, middle linebacker,” Raanon said on Breaking Big Blue.

Although Schoen and the Giants are likely to prioritize inside linebacker and have more money to work with, Raanan doesn’t expect them to go after someone like Bobby Wagner. Rather, they will aim for younger, slightly less expensive players who will be around for years to come.

“(Tremaine Edmunds) is going to be a little too rich for their blood. He’s going to get close to $15 million per year,” Raanan said. “The other name that I’ve heard most prominently was T.J. Edwards from the Eagles. 26 years old. If that price doesn’t get crazy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Giants very heavily in on Edwards.

“A younger player they can build around. But him in the middle of that defense for the next three, four years.”

Edwards wasn’t the only inside linebacker Raanan heard the Giants were potentially interested in.

“Some other names I heard that I think they’ll keep an eye on is Germaine Pratt from the Bengals, a really good player,” Raanan said. “Cole Holcomb from Washington is another name in that range. Leighton Vander Esch. Drue Tranquill if they have to go down a little bit on level if the price of the other guys gets too high.”

Raanan believes the Giants will focus on the $6 million to $8 million range for inside linebackers but may go up to $10 million if the market value doesn’t explode and they have a shot at landing a higher-tier player.

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2023 NFL Free Agency: The most underrated players of the upcoming class

With NFL free agency just around the corner, it’s time to look at the hidden gems of this class — the underrated players who will outperform their new contracts.

While big-name, big-dollar free-agency signings rule the headlines at the start of every league year, smart franchises understand that it’s the lesser-known contracts that frequently make the biggest difference when everybody hits the field months from now.

In 2022, the Seattle Seahawks let quarterback Geno Smith test the open market before re-signing him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal that worked out pretty well for everybody involved. Smith became the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, Seattle’s post-Russell Wilson franchise quarterback, and he got a major new deal when all was said and done.

The Eagles would not have made it to Super Bowl LVII without two relatively unheralded signings — cornerback James Bradberry to a one-year, $7.25 million deal, and pass-rusher Haason Reddick to a three-year, $45 million pact. Both players were defensive cornerstones throughout Philly’s remarkable season.

As we turn to the 2023 free agency cycle that begins Monday with the legal tampering period, and becomes official when players can actually sign contracts on Wednesday at 4:01 p.m. EST, it’s time to look at those players who might not be the biggest names, but could make profound impacts on their new teams (or their previous teams in some instances) based on past performance.

Here’s our list of the hidden gems of the 2023 free agency class.

B.J. Hill campaigns for Bengals to re-sign free agent Germaine Pratt

B.J. Hill wants the Bengals to keep Germaine Pratt.

Count Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill among those who want to see the team bring back free-agent linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Hill took to Twitter on Saturday before free agency to comment on the situation above a tweet thread from Joe Goodberry detailing Pratt’s pro career to date before he hits the market.

It’s a small thing, but it again hits on what has long been known as Pratt’s standing in the locker room with teammates and the rebuild as a whole.

However, Pratt’s breakout last year included improvement as a pass defender to the point that it might be hard for the Bengals to compete with offers he gets on the open market realistically.

Pratt, who shuttered his social media before going to free agency this week, has consistently noted how he wants to play more third downs. That’s another barrier to his return despite Hill’s wishes, as the defense usually prefers extra defensive backs on the field over linebackers.

Still, all involved with the Bengals have been consistently clear they want Pratt back. How it unfolds once the market opens, though, remains to be seen.

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Raiders free agent fits at linebacker

With Denzel Perryman headed for free agency, here are 5 free agent linebacker fits for Raiders

How much of a need linebacker was going to be for the Raiders next season was wholly dependent upon whether Denzel Perryman was re-signed. Well, recent reports say he and the Raiders were unable to come to a deal on his return, which means he is headed for the free agent market.

That means the Raiders either see an upgrade in free agency, or will look to the draft. The draft is far from a sure thing and with a great many other needs, and there may very not be an instant impact linebacker on the board from them.

Their best bet would be to try and lure a free agent in to step in at the position immediately. And there are a few decent options out there to choose from who could do just that.

Bengals LB Germaine Pratt clears Instagram before free agency

Germaine Pratt is off Insta before hitting the open market.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt is one of the team’s free agents expected to likely leave when the market opens next week.

Pratt added a little fuel to the proverbial fire recently, deleting his Instagram account after posting a story with the caption “new beginnings, new happenings, new memories.”

Granted, pro athletes deleting social media accounts or going private ahead of negotiations is almost mandatory at this point. But Pratt is expected to have a solid market that could put him out of Cincinnati’s price range at a time the team wants to shift some of the money from the defense to the offense with extensions looming for Joe Burrow and others.

Cincinnati also has potential Pratt replacements such as Akeem Davis-Gaithersburg and Markus Bailey already on the roster.

As of this writing, Pratt’s Twitter remains live, though this was his most recent message:

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