Germaine Pratt is back

[BurrowDeep2Chase]

3 years/21 mill

Bengals re-sign Germaine Pratt

Veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt will remain in Cincinnati.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Great Value

 

[Cincyfan78]

Shocked, quite honestly...but really good for the Bengals. His covderage on TE's and overall play was very, very good last year. If he continues that level of play, the Bengals got a freakin' steal.

 

[alf8478]

Von Bell gone.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Von Bell gone.

This one hurts more than any of them. Losing Bates is one thing when you have his backup on the roster, but losing both Bates and Bell and losing all t hat veteran leadership in the secondary...this defense could have some troubles this upcoming year.

I am not at all thrilled with going into t he season with Cam Taylor-Britt, an injured Awuzie, Mike Hilton (who I think is great) and a S who got very little action last year with all scrubs beyond that in the secondary.

I mean seriously, this is our entire secondary right now:

Chido Awuzie (recovering from ACL surgery - so who knows if he will be the same)
Cam Taylor-Britt (turning into a solid CB but would like to see a second year of production)
Mike Hilton (great slot corner)
Dax Hill (no experience)
Jalen Davis (potential, but no experience)
Allan George (no production)
Chris Lammons (more trouble than production)

Now imagine trying to cover KC, Miami, LA, shit....anyone really with that secondary. There is little to no leadership in the secondary now and very weak overall position group.

 

[cincygrad]

This one hurts more than any of them. Losing Bates is one thing when you have his backup on the roster, but losing both Bates and Bell and losing all t hat veteran leadership in the secondary...this defense could have some troubles this upcoming year.

I am not at all thrilled with going into t he season with Cam Taylor-Britt, an injured Awuzie, Mike Hilton (who I think is great) and a S who got very little action last year with all scrubs beyond that in the secondary.

I mean seriously, this is our entire secondary right now:

Chido Awuzie (recovering from ACL surgery - so who knows if he will be the same)
Cam Taylor-Britt (turning into a solid CB but would like to see a second year of production)
Mike Hilton (great slot corner)
Dax Hill (no experience)
Jalen Davis (potential, but no experience)
Allan George (no production)
Chris Lammons (more trouble than production)

Now imagine trying to cover KC, Miami, LA, shit....anyone really with that secondary. There is little to no leadership in the secondary now and very weak overall position group.

I disagree - Awuzie, CTB, and Hilton are a terrific set of corners. Drafting another in the first two rounds would solidify the position. I'm less worried about Chido's ACL injury than others. He's a technically sound corner and even if he's not 100% himself physically to begin the year, I think he'll make it work. Hilton should still be one of the premier slot corners in the NFL. CTB has a lot of talent and played well down the stretch. Still need another corner, but I think we're in good shape.

I expect them to sign a veteran safety to replace Bell - I have high hopes for Hill.... Regardless, the area the Bengals defensive coaches has shined the brightest is defensive back play. Remember how we were supposed to be dead after losing Chido? How much did we lose when we swung and missed on the big-ticket player Trae Waynes? How much better has Chido been in our system vs. his time in Dallas? How the hell did this team turn Eli Apple into a 17-week starter for a first place team with a top 10 scoring D? It's the coaching.....

 

[cincygrad]

I already wrote Pratt off and now I find myself really happy to have him back. If you look at some of the most critical plays for this team over the past two years, Pratt has been involved in a bunch of them...... He stripped Cook in the Minny game to give us the week 1 win in '21. He picked off Carr to give us our first playoff game in 120 years. He stripped Kelsey to change momentum and lead us to the win against KC in '22. He was the first guy to hit Huntley on the Hubbard play. And he's gotten better every year. Overall, good value for a guy that's made big plays for you over the past two seasons.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I disagree - Awuzie, CTB, and Hilton are a terrific set of corners. Drafting another in the first two rounds would solidify the position. I'm less worried about Chido's ACL injury than others. He's a technically sound corner and even if he's not 100% himself physically to begin the year, I think he'll make it work. Hilton should still be one of the premier slot corners in the NFL. CTB has a lot of talent and played well down the stretch. Still need another corner, but I think we're in good shape.

I expect them to sign a veteran safety to replace Bell - I have high hopes for Hill.... Regardless, the area the Bengals defensive coaches has shined the brightest is defensive back play. Remember how we were supposed to be dead after losing Chido? How much did we lose when we swung and missed on the big-ticket player Trae Waynes? How much better has Chido been in our system vs. his time in Dallas? How the hell did this team turn Eli Apple into a 17-week starter for a first place team with a top 10 scoring D? It's the coaching.....

I like your optimism but I disagree. We lost a f'n shit ton of talent and leadership with losing both Bell and Bates. We did sign a veteran safety already, Michael Thomas, so there you go. Our next FA starter.

I think CB and S should be our first two picks now, even as bad as we need RT.

If we can sign a "good" safety in free agency, then it will not look as bad to me. Because right now, I am thinking this is the order of our drafting positions:

1st - RT/TE
2nd - TE/RT
3rd - CB
4th - RB

 

[cincygrad]

I like your optimism but I disagree. We lost a f'n shit ton of talent and leadership with losing both Bell and Bates. We did sign a veteran safety already, Michael Thomas, so there you go. Our next FA starter.

I think CB and S should be our first two picks now, even as bad as we need RT.

If we can sign a "good" safety in free agency, then it will not look as bad to me. Because right now, I am thinking this is the order of our drafting positions:

1st - RT/TE
2nd - TE/RT
3rd - CB
4th - RB

We play in a division with Kenny Pick Em, Snoop Huntley, and a pervert that can't throw it straight anymore. We'll figure it out.

Uncle Mike was not signed to play safety. They'd start the rookie from last year over him. He's strictly a special teams guy.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I like Bell, but when you look at what the Bengals did, they made the right move. Keeping a younger guy at a position that is far more difficult to replace at LB is a great move. Pratt > Bell. Finding a cover LB is a rare thing in the NFL, especially one who has shown he is still growing and improving.

 

[DanBengalfan]

pratt and thomas, very glad about that

 

[cincygrad]

I like Bell, but when you look at what the Bengals did, they made the right move. Keeping a younger guy at a position that is far more difficult to replace at LB is a great move. Pratt > Bell. Finding a cover LB is a rare thing in the NFL, especially one who has shown he is still growing and improving.

I think the Bengals moves are fairly clear at this point. The types of deals they've made for guys over 30 are generally one year rentals.... or can be. There is no doubt that they will miss Bell's leadership - He was a big part of the turnaround. But, we have one of the more expensive defensive lines in the NFL and we had to get younger somewhere on D. If they can sign another mid-level vet and Dax can play up to first round potential, they'll be fine.