Sources: Raiders add ex-Bengal Pratt to LB mix

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders person signed erstwhile Cincinnati Bengals wrong linebacker Germaine Pratt to a one-year, $4.25 cardinal deal, a root told ESPN's Adam Schefter connected Wednesday.

Cincinnati had released Pratt connected Tuesday aft helium spent each six of his NFL seasons with the organization.

Pratt played a cardinal relation successful the Bengals winning back-to-back AFC North titles, arsenic good arsenic making AFC title crippled appearances successful 2021 and '22. In 96 vocation games (88 starts), helium totaled 616 tackles, 23 walk breakups, 7 forced fumbles and 7 interceptions.

In 2024, Pratt recorded a career-best 143 tackles, 2 interceptions and a brace of fumble recoveries.

One of the longest-tenured players connected the Bengals roster, the squad saved $5.9 cardinal successful headdress abstraction by releasing him.

For the Raiders, wrong linebacker and cornerback person been 2 areas of concern, making the determination to motion Pratt not surprising.

After losing Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo successful escaped agency, the Raiders person spent the offseason trying to remodel their wrong linebacker room. They antecedently signed veterans Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jaylon Smith and besides selected erstwhile University of Minnesota linebacker Cody Lindenberg successful the seventh circular of April's NFL draft.

During organized squad enactment practices and mandatory minicamp, Roberts and White person been the first-team linebackers. Las Vegas is hoping that White's versatility and Super Bowl acquisition could beryllium utile for the defense.

Over the past 2 seasons, however, White hasn't been the aforesaid subordinate that was a Pro Bowler successful 2021. After his last play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers successful 2023, White signed a one-year woody with the Philadelphia Eagles but was aboriginal released aft being inactive for the archetypal 4 games of the 2024 campaign. Eventually, White was picked up by the Houston Texans and appeared successful 7 games, totaling 19 tackles.

"[White's] acquisition is simply a positive," Raiders antiaircraft coordinator Patrick Graham said. "I would accidental that his flexibility for the position; he's played each implicit the tract before, he's been productive, some successful the tally [and] walk game, successful antithetic ways."

In addition, the wide extent astatine wrong linebacker is questionable, opening the doorway for Pratt to solidify a starting relation successful Las Vegas.