Tulane Football Star Surprisingly Waived by Green Bay Packers During Final Cuts
As the Tulane Green Wave prepare for their 2024 regular season opener on Thursday against Southeastern Louisiana, one of their former players received some bad news on Tuesday afternoon.
Former quarterback Michael Pratt, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2023, was unable to make the cut with the Green Bay Packers. He was waived Tuesday during final cuts after training camp and the preseason.
The #Packers also waived rookie QB Michael Pratt, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 27, 2024
So two QBs now on the roster: Jordan Love and Malik Willis.
Pratt was a seventh-round pick of the Packers, No. 245 overall. Many analysts were surprised to see him last that long in the draft, as he was given an early Day 3 grade.
Landing the former Green Wave standout was one of the most valuable picks in many people’s opinions. Pratt possessed the skill to be a high-level backup in the NFL, but it was evident by his training camp performance, some more development was needed.
Cutting a player who was selected just four months ago in the NFL Draft cannot be easy, but the writing was on the wall for Pratt. The Packers acquired Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans on Monday, and it was presumed he would take over as the No. 2 behind Jordan Love.
Operating mostly as the No. 3 quarterback in camp, he never put much pressure on Sean Clifford, who was the No. 2 quarterback last season. The Packers weren’t thrilled with how he performed either, as Clifford joined Pratt on the waiver wire.
Pratt appeared in all three preseason games for Green Bay, completing 22-of-35 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The talent is there for the Tulane product to become an NFL-caliber quarterback. Should he clear waivers on Wednesday, there is a good chance he will land with the Packers practice squad.
But, the team could not take the risk of having him as the only other option behind Love.
If he doesn’t land an opportunity on another team’s 53-man roster, coming back to develop on the practice squad as the No. 3 emergency quarterback in a system he has been working in all offseason would make a lot of sense.
In four collegiate seasons with the Green Wave, Pratt completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 9,602 yards. He threw 90 touchdowns compared to only 26 interceptions with a 148.0 rating.
KENNETH TEAPE
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.