Ted Karras Gets a One-Year Extension from the Bengals

Highlights

Ted Karras signs one-year extension with Bengals for $6.6M per year
Karras has experience and a strong football family lineage.
Consistency is key for winning teams like the Bengals & Karras will work with a healthy Joe Burrow in 2024.

While they may not make as much money as a tackle or a guard, a good center is highly valued in the NFL. And if teams, especially contending teams, find a good one, they tend to keep them around.

That was the case with Ted Karras, who, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, has reached a new deal with the Cincinnati Bengals:

For Ted Karras, it’s a 1-year extension that will pay him $6.6M average per year over the two years.

Karras not only brings eight years of experience to the table, five of which came as a regular starter, he has also played in many big games. The center was a member of the Super Bowl 51 and 53 championships with the New England Patriots. He was also a member of the Bengals team that went to the AFC Championship game during the 2022 season.

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Consistency is Important For Winning Teams Like the Bengals

Karras will work with a healthy Joe Burrow in 2024

Ted Karras and Joe Burrow talk on the field — Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ted Karras certainly comes from a strong football bloodline. His grandfather, Ted Sr., played in the NFL, and his grand uncle, Alex, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The center’s father, Ted Jr., was a replacement player during the strike-shortened 1987 season. After playing his college football at Illinois, Ted III was taken by the Patriots with the 221st selection in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Karras played three years as a backup in New England, becoming the team’s starting center in 2019. He also started at guard for the Patriots in 2021. In 2022, he signed with the Bengals on a three-year deal worth $18 million. He has served as a team captain for the Bengals since his first year with the team.

The center’s first campaign with the Bengals went well. The team finished 12-4 and won two playoff games before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. 2023 was a different story, as the Bengals lost quarterback Joe Burrow and finished 9-8, last place in the AFC North.

This year’s Bengals, which look fully healthy now, could be in for another strong season. Of course, the most important thing will be making sure that Burrow, who is coming into 2024 with a lot of confidence, stays healthy, and that responsibility partially falls upon Karras, who also said that he hopes to end his career in the Jungle with the Bengals.

Source: Ian Rapoport

All statistics are courtesy of Pro Football Reference and all contract figures are courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise noted.