While Germaine Pratt went unsigned up until Tuesday, he found a way to still be involved in football.
The 30-year-old veteran linebacker spent time in the summer as a volunteer coach at North Carolina State, where he worked with his alma mater's linebackers. He eventually had a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys, though he didn't sign.
This week, Pratt got his chance to get back into playing instead of coaching. The Colts signed him to their practice squad on Tuesday, and while it's too early to tell if and when he'll make his 2026 debut, Pratt said his goal is to use his experience to bring leadership to the Colts' linebacker room.
"Helping the defense, just being in this system for so long, that's all I know," Pratt said. "So help it stabilize and settle it down, make tackles, whatever the case may be, get some turnovers."
Pratt has played all but four of his 112 NFL games for Lou Anarumo, his defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals (2019-2024) and Colts (2025). In 2025, Pratt signed with the Colts in October after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders and started 12 games, totaling 101 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. The experienced WILL linebacker has had over 100 tackles with at least one interception and one forced fumble every year since 2023.
The Colts are seeking consistency at linebacker, with snaps divided in Week 5 between Akeem Davis-Gaither (52 snaps), Austin Ajiake (32 snaps), CJ Allen (24 snaps) and Bryce Boettcher (11 snaps) with starting WILL linebacker Jaylon Carlies (ribs) out. As with Davis-Gaither, the Colts see value in Pratt's experience not only in the NFL, but with Anarumo's system.
"Just adding a veteran presence is big in there," head coach Shane Steichen said. "He's played a lot of football in this league, made a lot of plays, and any time you can add good players to your roster, you want to do that."
In the immediate future, whether Pratt could factor into that group on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans – he'd have to be elevated to the active roster from the practice squad – remains to be seen given he didn't participate in training camp and took the field for his first practice of the 2026 season on Wednesday.
"I don't know the plan," Pratt said. "I'll be ready when the opportunity comes."
