Will the Bengals ultimately trade Germaine Pratt to the Colts?
Germaine Pratt wants to be traded. Will the Cincinnati Bengals comply?
Coming into the offseason, Pratt was widely viewed as a cap casualty candidate as he entered the final year of his current deal, which would have seen him have a cap hit of just over $8 million.
However, given the fact that Pratt is only 28 and has had several good seasons in Cincinnati, he was almost certainly seeking a contract extension, which the Bengals likely said no thanks to.
Now, Pratt wants a new home, and it sounds like there will be a trade market for his services, according to Ian Rapoport.
Pratt is still only 28 years old, a leader in the locker room, wears the green dot and has extensive playoff experience. The #Bengals will have a market should they decide to trade him in order to free up more cash to continue re-signing their offensive weapons. https://t.co/eBmM8wYVAl
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 12, 2025
Perhaps this will be a repeat of last offseason when the Bengals were going to cut a quality but overpaid veteran in Joe Mixon, only to have the Houston Texans send them a seventh-round NFL Draft pick for Mixon.
The early favorite for Pratt? Likely the Indianapolis Colts, who now employ former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, and it sounds like Pratt would like a reunion.
There have been rumblings for a couple weeks about Germaine Pratt’s interest in reuniting with Lou Anarumo in Indianapolis.
With his future very much up in the air in Cincinnati, going public with a trade request is a move that felt inevitable. https://t.co/4c1JGroBti
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) February 12, 2025
At this point, the Bengals likely aren’t going to get more than a sixth-round draft pick for Pratt. More likely, it will be a seventh-round pick like the Mixon deal, which was ultimately used on Ole Miss safety Daijahn Anthony, who was a key special teams player as a rookie. A late-round pick swap is also something to consider.
One of those three scenarios is about the best you can hope Cincinnati gets in this deal. I’m sure there are plenty of nice Day 3 linebacker prospects the Bengals could snag for more depth on defense and special teams if and when Pratt lands elsewhere.
