Ex-Bengals team captain throws his former team under the bus and isn’t that far from the truth
Shots fired from former Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt.
Former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt isn’t too fond of his original team.
Pratt, a team captain during his last year in Cincinnati before being released in the 2025 offseason, replied to a post on X/Twitter regarding Florida State defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. potentially being drafted by the Bengals.
“Sorry they won’t draft no dogs on the dline,” replied Pratt to the original post.
A definite shot at the club that drafted him seven years ago. Pratt was a third-round pick in director of player personnel Duke Tobin’s first draft class with Zac Taylor as head coach in 2019. He ended up being one of the best selections from that class, starting 88 games in six years and making one of the greatest plays in franchise history to help win Cincy’s first playoff game in 31 years during the 2021 run to the Super Bowl.
It’s disappointing that Pratt of all people would throw stones at the Bengals so callously, but in all honesty, evidence points to him being right.
Germaine Pratt’s harsh Bengals jab is also truthful
From the year Pratt was drafted in 2019 to 2025, Cincinnati has selected 12 defensive linemen. They are as follows:
- DT Renell Wren (2019)
- DE Khalid Kareem (2020)
- DE Joseph Ossai (2021)
- DE Cam Sample (2021)
- DT Tyler Shelvin (2021)
- DT Zach Carter (2022)
- DE Myles Murphy (2023)
- DT Kris Jenkins Jr. (2024)
- DT McKinnley Jackson (2024)
- DE Cedric Johnson (2024)
- DE Shemar Stewart (2025)
Most of those 12 were on the 2025 roster, either because they’re still playing on their rookie contracts, or they were relatively cheap to retain. Only Ossai and Murphy started the majority of the season.
It’s a mostly discouraging list of picks to be frank. The Bengals have taken five swings at defensive tackle in the Taylor era and have hit exactly zero home runs. Jenkins figures to be on the roster in 2026, but has largely underwhelmed for a second-round pick. Jackson requested a trade last October and is likely on the roster bubble entering his third season. Wren, Shelvin, and Carter were each whiffs in their own right.
The EDGEs are all over the place. Kareem has been off the team for a few years. Sample has stuck around in a reserve role, much like what Johnson hopes to do, and Stewart has a long way to go before being a useful starter. Ossai and Murphy have been relatively successful picks on the edge, but Ossai can be upgraded as a starter and Murphy has only recently been producing positively after his first two years were unremarkable.
Murphy is arguably the closest out of all 12 to being a “dog,” and Pratt was already off the team when he took his first real steps of progress. Clearly, Pratt has at least a decent point to make here.
The Bengals wouldn’t be hinting at addressing the d-line this offseason if the unit was comprised of high-end talent. Their best pass rushers of the decade have been free agent signings Trey Hendrickson and Larry Ogunjobi. B.J. Hill was even first acquired via trade.
They need to prove Pratt wrong for their own sake if they hope to get back to where the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will be playing in two week’s time.
Cincinnati Bengals News
Bengals can prove their fans right with under-the-radar additions from last year about to test their mettle
The Bengals made a few personnel hires in 2025. It’s nearly time for them to bear fruit.
