When the Cincinnati Bengals brought Ted Karras to the Queen City in free agency in March of 2022, it was to stop the revolving door at the center position. The offensive lineman directly in front of the most important player on the field had been Billy Price, Trey Hopkins or Trey Hill, each of whom performed various degrees of bad, and having an experienced, two-time Super Bowl champion to lead the line could do nothing but good things.
That’s been the case. Not only has Karras solidified the position, but he’s become a fan favorite and locker-room leader.
Unfortunately the guard position just crumbled around him.
Hopefully that’s fixed in 2025.
Ted Karras
- Height: 6-foot-4
- Weight: 310 pounds
- Age: 32
- College: Illinois
- Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
- Experience: 9 years
Cap Status:
In June of 2024, Karras signed a one-year extension with the Bengals for $6 million, which included a fully guaranteed signing bonus of $3 million. His base salary in 2025 will be $4.2 million and his contract carries a workout bonus of $100,000. Overall his cap hit is $6.3 million in 2025, making him the 11th highest paid center in the league this year.
Background:
Karras was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Illinois by the Patriots and topped off his rookie season by winning a Super Bowl ring when Tom Brady led the offense to a comeback win in overtime in the Super Bowl. He was a backup guard and center for a time before working his way into a starting role in front of Tom Brady.
He left for a season (2020) to start every game as the Miami Dolphins’ center before returning to the Patriots in 2021 on another one-year deal where he started multiple games at guard, this time in front of Mac Jones.
It wasn’t until he was brought to Cincinnati that he was named as the team’s consistent starting center, and he’s been a stabilizing force ever since.
Outlook on the 2025 season and beyond:
Despite the absolute lack of support in pass protection from guards Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson, who gave up 14 sacks (per PFF) between them (Cappa with eight and Volson with six), Karras only allowed two and received a grade of 78.0 on the season in pass protection from PFF. That’s the third highest grade among centers who started at least 50% of their team’s snaps.
The Bengals responded by cutting Cappa, restructuring Volson’s contract, re-signing Cody Ford, signing free agent journeyman Lucas Patrick and selecting guard Dylan Fairchild in the third round of the 2025 draft. Karras will likely start between two new guards, possibly a combination of Patrick and Fairchild. The Bengals will have options, though, and it’s likely what they settle on is an improvement from what they had last season.
As far as beyond the 2025 season, who knows? Karras obviously can still play at a high level, but he’ll be 33 heading into the 2026 season, and it’s surprising the Bengals haven’t broken out in hives yet by being too close to a player over 30. Karras could be looking at retirement, or possibly another one-year deal. The Bengals do have Matt Lee and Seth McLaughlin waiting in the wings and ready for their shot.
As Juba said at the end of Gladiator, “but not yet.”
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