As the Tulane Green Wave prepare for their 2024 regular season opener against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, one of their former players received some bad news Tuesday afternoon.
Former quarterback Michael Pratt, the 2023 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, failed to make the Green Bay Packers roster and was released Tuesday as part of the team’s final cuts following training camp and the preseason.
The #Packer According to the source, rookie QB Michael Pratt was also released.
So now there are two quarterbacks on the roster: Jordan Love and Malik Willis.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) 27 August 2024
Pratt was selected by the Packers in the seventh round, No. 245 overall. Many analysts were surprised that he stayed in the draft so long, given that he was rated early on as a third-day pick.
Signing the former Green Wave star was one of the most valuable decisions in many people’s opinion. Pratt had the tools to be a top-tier backup in the NFL, but his performance in training camp showed that there was still some development to be done.
It’s not easy to let go of a player selected in the NFL Draft just four months ago, but for Pratt, it was already a done deal. The Packers signed Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans on Monday and he was expected to take the No. 2 pick behind Jordan Love.
He was mostly used as the No. 3 quarterback in training camp and never put much pressure on Sean Clifford, who was the No. 2 quarterback last season. The Packers weren’t thrilled with his performance either, as Clifford was placed on the waivers list along with Pratt.
Pratt played in all three preseason games for Green Bay and completed 22 of 35 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Tulane product has the talent to become an NFL-level quarterback, and if he clears the waivers list on Wednesday, there’s a good chance he could land on the Packers’ practice squad.
But the team couldn’t take the risk of having him as the only alternative behind Love.
If he doesn’t get a chance on another team’s 53-man roster, returning as an emergency third quarterback in a system he’s worked in all offseason would make a lot of sense.
In four college seasons with the Green Waves, Pratt completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 9,602 yards. He threw 90 touchdowns but only 26 interceptions with a rating of 148.0.
