Pratt was set to enter the final season of his three-year contract in 2025. He inked the deal, worth more than $20 million, in 2023. In releasing Pratt, the Bengals will incur $2.3 million in dead money against the salary cap. He was set to earn a $5.25 million salary for the 2025 season.

He even got the perfunctory "thank you for everything" social-media post.Pratt has every right to be thinking, "Tanks fer nuttin."He asked to be traded on February 12. The Bengals instead squatted on his contract for months,

On its own, the Cincinnati Bengals cutting Germaine Pratt would be a perfectly fine, normal football move accepted by most fans. Instead, the Bengals dragged the process out and turned plenty of people against them along the way.