What the Bengals linebacker room looks like after Germaine Pratt’s release

Regardless of Pratt’s performance in 2024, he leaves a big void in the Bengals linebacker position.

Germaine Pratt being released by the Cincinnati Bengals isn’t a surprise. What’s surprising is how long it took for the Bengals to ultimately release him.

Pratt requested a trade months ago, and the Bengals released him just one day before Mandatory Minicamp starts on Tuesday.

Even though Pratt looked like he was struggling last season, he should be remembered for his big-play mentality in the biggest games over his seasons in Cincinnati. Pratt’s interception in the playoff game against the Raiders is one of the best moments in my life as a Bengals fan. I’ll never forget the sound of 66,277 fans simultaneously erupting at Paul Brown Stadium when Pratt’s interception broke the Cincinnati Sports Curse.

In addition, Pratt also had a fumble recovery against Minnesota in Week 1 of the Bengals Super Bowl season, and the Bengals turned that fumble recovery into a game-winning drive. It was Pratt who ripped the ball out of Travis Kelce’s hands in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs in Week 13 of the 2022 season, with the Bengals turning that fumble into a game-winning touchdown.

Even last season, Pratt picked off Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on 3rd & 14 late in the fourth quarter that turned into Joe Burrow’s go-ahead touchdown on a QB sneak when he celebrated by doing the griddy.

Needless to say, Pratt is leaving a void in the Bengals linebacker room. Let’s look at what the Bengals linebacker room looks like with Pratt being released on Monday.

Bengals Linebacker Room as it stands

Oren Burks

Burks was a free-agent signing on March 10th, the first day of the legal tampering period in the NFL. He comes from the Philadelphia Eagles, who won Super Bowl LIX this past February. An eight-year veteran who stands at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds., Burks had 41 combined tackles and two forced fumbles in 17 games in the regular season last year. Then, in the Playoffs and Super Bowl, Burks had 25 tackles, two forced fumbles, and a sack. Burks’s veteran presence will be a huge depth piece in the Bengals linebacker room.

Barrett Carter

Carter was the Bengals fourth-round draft pick this past April at 119th overall. He played in 52 games and started 40 in his four seasons at Clemson, where he was a finalist for the Butkus Award – given to the best linebacker in college football – in 2024. The biggest thing about Carter is that he was a captain on last year’s Clemson team, and Zac Taylor loves drafting players and signing free agents who have previously been captains.

Joe Giles-Harris

Giles-Harris has been in the NFL since 2019, and he has played four different teams in that time span. He played in just five games last year while playing for both the Patriots and Jaguars, making just a combined four tackles. His career high in tackles was 20 with the Bills in 2021.

Shaka Heyward

Heyward signed with the Bengals in 2023 as a college free agent out of Duke, and he played in all three preseason games that year with eight tackles. In 2024, Heyward played in six games with six tackles on special teams and a forced fumble.

Demetrius Knight Jr.

Knight was the Bengals’ second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft at 49th overall. He’s an older rookie who will turn 25 next month, and he played six years of college football at Georgia Tech, Charlotte, and South Carolina. It was with South Carolina last year where Knight picked off Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik with just seconds remaining to lift the Gamecocks to a win over their arch-rival Tigers. Knight also had 82 tackles, two sacks, and three forced fumbles last year.

Maema Njongmeta

If the Bengals had made the Playoffs in 2024, Njongmeta’s heads-up recovery on the Cowboys’ muffed punt on Monday Night Football would have been the turning point of the season. It was the first play at a critical juncture in a big game that went the Bengals way, and the Bengals cashed in when Burrow hit Chase for a 40-yard catch-and-run game-winning touchdown.

In 17 games, with one start in 2024, Njongmeta had 13 combined tackles. It was a really good season for the college free agent out of Wisconsin.

Logan Wilson

Without question, Wilson, the leader of the linebacker room, has emerged as a cornerstone of the Bengals’ defense over the last five seasons. Although he missed the last five games last season, he was on pace to smash his previous career-high in tackles (135) with 104 through 11 games.

Wilson is due for a bounce-back season in terms of health and production. Remember, Al Golden was his position coach when he first came into the NFL in 2020. In 2021, Wilson had four interceptions in the regular season and another pick in the Divisional round of the Playoffs that set up the game-winning drive in Tennessee.

Craig Young

Young signed a reserve/future contract on January 7th after being signed to the Bengals practice squad on Christmas Eve.

He played college football at Ohio State and Kansas before spending time with the Colts and Steelers in 2024.

Bengals Reacts

In this week’s Bengals Reacts survey, 79% of fans said that cutting Pratt was the right move for Cincinnati.

This survey was brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.