The Cincinnati Bengals remain highly unlikely to find a trade partner for Germaine Pratt.

Pratt, after all, has an $8 million cap hit attached to his trade request from earlier this offseason. Tack on his age, what he put on film last year and how obvious it seems that he won’t be back and it feels more like he’s headed toward being cut.

Still, what if a team like the Indianapolis Colts gets desperate?

Those Colts now have former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in the same role. But this goes beyond that simple connection.

Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin had ankle surgery and could miss everything up until training camp, if not into it. Jaylon Carlies, another linebacker, continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery, too.

Despite these factors and losses in free agency, the Colts didn’t draft a linebacker until the seventh round this year.

So, perhaps this situation lends itself to helping a Pratt trade happen. Perhaps it escalates if Franklin isn’t full-go soon or other injuries occur.

It would help if the Bengals would be willing to modify any sort of deal to get Pratt out the door. But knowing them, it’s probably unlikely they would give up cash in the process.

After drafting Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter, though, it still feels like the Pratt bridge has burned and collapsed, opening the door for ideas like this.