Tulane Football Star Finds Intriguing New Home With Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A prominent former Tulane football star was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad after being released by the Green Bay Packers.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The quarterback who changed Tulane football history gets a fresh start in the NFL, as Michael Pratt signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad on Wednesday.

As reported by Pewter Report, Pratt will replaces John Wolford as QB3 in Tampa Bay after being released by the Green Bay Packers.

Pratt, a Boca Raton native, had indicated his dream was always to play back in his home state, where he became the school's all-time passing leader against FAU last season. He has his shot to return after a puzzling draft process.

Despite leading the Green Wave to the greatest single-season turnaround in college football history, Pratt fell to the seventh round until the Packers gave him a shot. He split first-team reps with Sean Clifford while Jordan Love had a contract holdout, but didn't show enough to demand a roster spot.

Green Bay traded for Malik Willis from Tennessee, and the writing was on the wall for the quarterback room, one that lacked NFL game experience. Willis completed 4 passes in three games last season.

Pratt didn't do enough in the preseason to land on the Packers' practice squad over Clifford. He threw an incredible touchdown in the final game against the Baltimore Ravens, but the following interception muddied waters.

It's hard for seventh-round picks to make a splash. Covering Tulane's quarterback competition awarded a lot of perspective. When you're working mostly with third team guys, the skill and level of play goes down across the board. It's tough to surmount the hurdles of just a few short months in the NFL prior to the 53-man roster cutdown.

Anyone who's watched Pratt play knows all he needs is a shot. He now has a chance to develop in a quarterback room he likely identifies with well. He slots in behind Kyle Trask who backs up Baker Mayfield.

While Mayfield was a former No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, they discarded him in favor of Deshaun Watson. Mayfield was sent to the Carolina Panthers until Tampa Bay gave him his respective shot. Mayfield has played with a chip on his shoulder and never looked back. His moxie matches that of Pratt.

For a tough NFL journey, Pratt landed in a great spot in the end: the team of former Tulane legend Shaun King, who played for Tampa Bay for six seasons. Ryan Griffin also backed up Tom Brady when they won the Super Bowl. The quarterback who turned Tulane into a championship-caliber program now has a strong chance to develop on a practice squad.