Bengals veteran re-signed to keep playing with Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow’s influence in Cincinnati is working wonders.
The Cincinnati Bengals secured one of their best defensive players on Monday when they re-signed linebacker Germaine Pratt to a three-year deal worth $21 million.
Pratt's main motivation to come back to Cincinnati is quite interesting.
It wasn't to rejoin his defensive teammates like Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, or Joseph Ossai, although that surely played a factor. It was playing with stud quarterback, Joe Burrow.
“I knew what I wanted to do. I talked to Zac (Taylor) early on," said Pratt. "I didn’t want to go to a team that’s losing. We have a top 5 quarterback. I want to win. Why would I leave?"
Can't blame Pratt for thinking that way.
Burrow has led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances with a Super Bowl berth included which is something that hasn't since the late 1980s in Cincinnati.
The Bengals came up three points short of hoisting the Lombardi trophy in 2021, and it undoubtedly has lit a fire within the organization to win its first world title.
It certainly has with Pratt, and he also doubled down on wanting to do it while playing with Burrow.
"Getting back to the Super Bowl, competing, and winning it," Pratt said. "I got three years so we'll see what I can do with Joe (Burrow) for three years. … If Joe Burrow gonna be around for a lot of years, then I need to be around too."
Pratt has carved out a nice career during his first four years with the Bengals, and his production has increased steadily. In 2022, Pratt set career highs in tackles (99) interceptions (2), and passes defended (10).
The fact that Burrow has a guy like Pratt who plays on the other side of the ball waiting to return to play with him speaks to how much of an impact he's made on the organization.
