In the immediate aftermath of his penalty that helped set the Kansas City Chiefs up for the game-winning field goal in the AFC Championship Game, several Cincinnati Bengals were supportive of defensive end Joseph Ossai. Linebacker Germaine Pratt, though, was not one of them.
Jermaine Pratt visibly upset with the ending of that game- particularly with the roughing the passer on Joseph Ossai that got the Chiefs in comfortable FG range to win the game #bengals #AFCChampionshipGame pic.twitter.com/02JR77QgG7
— Katie Kapusta (@KatieKapustaTV) January 30, 2023
Pratt’s rant did not earn him a lot of sympathy.
This lame asf! https://t.co/o56XzSzQDc
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) January 30, 2023
Tough look in the Bengals locker room😬pic.twitter.com/03XIM6s1QN
— The Game Day NFL (@TheGameDayNFL) January 30, 2023
Pratt a loser for this https://t.co/TMZeQ1Q6qP
— 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓪𝓷 🥀 (@tarmaanpro112) January 30, 2023
I would cut this guy before I cut Ossai https://t.co/d4uFONaRsW
— Tommy Smokes (@TomScibelli) January 30, 2023
Acting like this towards your teammate ain’t it. Ossai messed up which he’ll live with that regret the rest of his life. But he was out there making plays the entire game. Played a hell of a lot better than Pratt did. Teammates should be lifting him up. Not tearing him down https://t.co/twlRml2XWf
— David Gregg (@2187sports) January 30, 2023
Teammate of the year, eh? https://t.co/zOE9oD3a5V
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) January 30, 2023
For someone about to hit free agency, this doesn’t exactly scream “good locker room guy” https://t.co/6xrBEWOAzx
— Andrew Moore (@AndrewMooreNFL) January 30, 2023
Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer later asked Pratt — who is a pending free agent — to elaborate on saying it was his last year and asked whether he’d be back with the Bengals. His response was, “that’s up to them.”
Thought it was important ask him about his comments before posting.
Asked #Bengals LB Germaine Pratt about his comments about this being his last year, he said “his contract expired” and when I asked if he wants to re-sign with the team, he said “that’s up to them.” pic.twitter.com/uIsGmXlqYI
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) January 30, 2023
Pratt’s frustration is understandable. And while the Bengals who rallied around the distraught Ossai should be commended for doing so, criticizing a player for being frustrated in that circumstance isn’t fair. That said, Pratt is way out of bounds here. While this game was ultimately decided on a late field goal, games never come down to one play. The Bengals made too many mistakes to beat the Chiefs. Ossai’s was one of those mistakes, but not the only one.
And if Cincinnati was on the fence about bringing Pratt back, this probably won’t do him any favors.
[Katie Kapusta, Kelsey Conway]
