Raiders cut ties with free-agent signing and veteran starter after just 5 games

Mike Moraitis

Raiders cut ties with free-agent signing and veteran starter after just 5 games image

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders have seen enough of linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll announced on Monday that Pratt has been released after just five games with the team.

“We just thought it was time to go in a different direction," Carroll said

Pratt started in the first four games for Las Vegas, but he was ruled out for a non-injury related reason in Week 5. Carroll later revealed it was a personnel decision.

"Just decided to go with the other guys," Carroll said after the embarrassing loss to the Colts, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Clearly, Pratt did not take kindly to his demotion and that put the writing on the wall in bold letters that he wasn't long for Las Vegas. Now, the expected has happened.

The Raiders signed Pratt in June just days after he was released by the Cincinnati Bengals. Pratt saw a significant decline in his level of play in recent years and it was zero surprise the Bengals cut him loose.

That said, Pratt is likely to draw interest from a linebacker-needy team in the days ahead, so we probably haven't seen the last of him this season.

With Pratt gone, the Raiders are left with guys like Jamal Adams, Elandon Roberts, Tommy Eichenberg, Cody Lindenberg, Devin White and Brennan Jackson at the position.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.