Colts released LB Germaine Pratt to get younger and faster. Why are they bringing him back?
· Yahoo Sports
After a severely underwhelming performace from the team's linebacker corps in Sunday's 34-22 loss in Pittsburgh, Colts veteran linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither said he believed his defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was "going to start making some changes."
Davis-Gaither was right, even if the latest change is, in fact, a blast from the past.
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Tuesday, the Colts signed veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt to the practice squad, re-signing a player who made 12 starts at the position in Indianapolis to end last season following his release by the Raiders after just four games.
Entering this offseason, Colts general manager Chris Ballard pledged his roster would be "younger and faster" at the second level -- a precursor to a completely overhauled linebacker room that included the loss of starters in Pratt (not re-signed in free agency) and team captain Zaire Franklin (traded to Green Bay). The Colts used two of its first four draft picks at the position, taking Georgia All-American CJ Allen in the second round (53rd overall) and Oregon standout Bryce Boettcher in the fourth. Along with signing Davis-Gaither in free agency and getting a healthy Jaylon Carlies back for the team's full offseason program, the revamp was complete.
But the unit, which Anarumo said in the offseason he expected to be one featuring frequent rotation, has not panned out. Two injuries early in training camp, along with difficulties in learning and operating Anarumo's schemes, took Allen out of the running for Indianapolis' starting middle linebacker spot. That forced the Colts to make Davis-Gaither, an infrequent starter until a disappointing single season in Arizona in 2025, the full-time starter. Carlies and Boettcher mostly split the weakside linebacker snaps through the first four weeks before Carlies suffered a rib injury in Week 4 in London and missed Sunday's game.
On a day where Boettcher was primed to take starter-level snaps, he would see just 11 (18%). After he missed a tackle on Steelers running back Jaylen Warren's 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass on Pittsburgh's fourth play of the game, Boettcher would log just seven more. Allen played a season-high 24 defensive snaps (40%) in response. Davis-Gaither played a season-low 87% of snaps Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Pratt is the latest former player Anarumo has added over the last year-and-a-half. That list of players includes last week's practice squad signee defensive end Carl Lawson, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, Davis-Gaither, cornerback Mike Hilton, cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Joe Bachie.
In 12 games for Indianapolis last season, Pratt logged 101 tackles (including five for a loss), one forced fumble, two recovered fumbles, eight passes defended and one interception. In the passing game, he surrendered 34 catches on 60 targets when he was the nearest defender in coverage for 378 yards and three touchdowns. Opposing QBs had an 85.3 quarterback rating when looking his way.
Also on Tuesday, the Colts signed tight end Pharaoh Brown to the 53-man roster from the practice squad in the spot opened up by the team placing defensive end Arden Key on injured reserve last week. Indianapolis signed Brown a week into training camp, but he was waived on roster cutdown day before re-signing to the team's practice squad. Brown played in seven games last season with the Cardinals, catching both his targets for one total yard.
The team also awaits the potential reactivation of tight end Will Mallory, whose 21-day window to potentially return from IR began last week, where he was a full participant in all three of the team's practices.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts released LB Germaine Pratt to get younger and faster. Why are they bringing him back?