Germaine Pratt wants to run it back in Cincinnati
Loyalty remains a huge factor when it comes to Germaine Pratt.
The Cincinnati Bengals have been close for two straight years. A Super Bowl window is open, but not permanently.
Linebacker Germaine Pratt is well aware.
Since being drafted in the third round of Zac Taylor's first NFL Draft class, he's seen the absolute lowest of lows, and has been on the precipice of summiting the highest achievement in the game.
So when opportunity came knocking for him to return to Cincinnati, Pratt held on to the idea of finishing what he started.
"We're one play away," Pratt told Bengals.com. "So why wouldn't you want to stay? We're close. It was a fact. I want to win,"
This is new territory for the Bengals. The message has always involved trying to build something greater. Now, it's transformed into sustaining something great. The rebuilding phases are long in the past, and they don't expect them to pop up anytime soon.
What hasn't changed in the building is their value on loyalty. Recent free agency aggression has put this in the rearview mirror for most, but the franchise still deeply cares about rewarding their own. It becomes easier to utilize this quality at the negotiating table when a track record of winning is attached to their resume.
"I'm big on loyalty," Pratt said. "They gave me an opportunity when I got in the league, so why would I try to leave for a team that wasn't as successful for more money? I didn't feel right about that."
This is the Germaine Pratt that go lost in contentions surrounding him. He made it clear that he wasn't being played as much within the Bengals' defense, specifically on third down. After leaving the field of the AFC Championship game, Pratt was caught on camera throwing teammate Joseph Ossai under the bus for his costly game-sealing penalty.
What appears toxic on the surface is also passionate underneath.
While these stories ended up defining Pratt's apparent end in Cincinnati, his comments regarding loyalty and staying on a winning team were just as loud after the season's end.
2022 didn't end on the note Pratt or the Bengals were looking for. Signing up for three more years tells everything we need to know about where Pratt's priorities lie going forward.
