Theodore John Karras III (born March 15, 1993) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

, and was selected in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, with whom he won two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championships. He spent the 2020 season with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

before returning to New England the next season.

Early life

Karras was born on March 15, 1993 to Jennifer and Ted Karras Jr. Raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Karras attended Cathedral High School where he played football as an offensive lineman with the Fighting Irish Leprechauns."MaxPreps"
Recruitment Profile. Retrieved December 10, 2024. The , Illinois native helped the Fighting Irish to win state championships in the 2008 and 2010 seasons. Karras earned All-State honors during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Indiana Digest named Karras on its Top 15 selection. Rated a three-star recruiting prospect by Rivals.com and

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

, Karras was also ranked among ESPN's Top 25 offensive guard prospects."Fighting Illini"
Profile. Retrieved December 10, 2024. Karras graduated in 2011 and received four collegiate football offers including Illinois,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

College career

Karras committed to Illinois over 15 other offers including his top four choices. After redshirting the 2011 season, Karras entered his first active season in 2012, starting as a

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. His first start was made in the opening game defeating

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

. Karras also proved instrumental in the Fighting Illini's 44-0 victory over Charleston Southern. He started in all 12 games of his first active season. During his sophomore season in 2013, Karras suffered an ankle injury while at practice. This caused him to miss the opening season game against

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. He returned to play as a starting right guard in 10 games during the season. His sophomore season performance earned him an offensive lineman accolade as he was part of the greatly improved offensive line of that year. Returning for his junior season in 2014, Karras started again as a right guard for the first nine games before sitting out the last four games due to a knee injury, sustained in the game against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. In his senior season in 2015, Karras played starting right guard during which he served also as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. He started in all 12 games of the season, totaling 43 starts during his collegiate career. Karras was named three times to the Academic All-Big Ten including in the 2012, 2014 and 2015 seasons. Karras earned a bachelor's degree in

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

in 2014 with a plan to complete a master's program in the fields of recreation, sport and tourism.

Professional career

New England Patriots (first stint)

Karras was selected by the

in the sixth round (221st overall) in the

. He made the Patriots 53-man roster and was the starting right guard in the season opener against the Cardinals due to the injuries of Shaq Mason and

Jonathan Cooper Jonathan Javell Cooper (born January 19, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals seventh overall in the 2013 NFL draft. He play ...

. He split time with Mason in Week 2 but was reverted to a reserve role for the rest of the season after Mason resumed his starting role in Week 3. Karras contributed to the Patriots finishing with a 14–2 record and earning the top-seed for the AFC playoffs. On February 5, 2017, Karras was part of the Patriots team that won

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

by a score of 34–28 in overtime. On September 2, 2017, Karras was released by the Patriots and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 7, 2017. He made his first start of the season in Week 11 at center, filling in for starter David Andrews, who was out with an illness. Karras and the Patriots reached

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

, but were defeated by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

by a score of 41–33. Karras entered 2018 as a backup guard and center. He started two games at right guard in place of an injured Shaq Mason. The Patriots reached

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

where they defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

13–3. He played four special teams snaps in the loss. Karras began the 2019 season as the Patriots' starting center after David Andrews was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He appeared in and started 15 regular season games in the 2019 season.

Miami Dolphins

On March 20, 2020, Karras signed a one-year contract with the

. He started all 16 games at center for the Dolphins in 2020.

New England Patriots (second stint)

On March 19, 2021, Karras signed a one-year contract with the Patriots. After being named a backup guard to begin the season, he was named the starting left guard in Week 7 following a poor performance from

Michael Onwenu Michael Onwenu ( ) (born December 10, 1997) is an American professional football guard for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, and was selected by the Patriots i ...

and started the remainder of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 18, 2022, Karras signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the

. Karras was the starting center for the team during the 2022 season, and was named a captain. He started all of the Bengals' games in the 2022 season. He would reprise both roles for the 2023 season. He started in all 17 games in the 2023 season. On June 13, 2024, Karras signed a one-year contract extension through the 2025 season.

Personal life

Karras is a third-generation NFL player. His grandfather, Ted Karras Sr., and grand uncles, Lou Karras and

Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935October 10, 2012) was an American professional American football, football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection playing defensive tackle for the Detro ...

, played in the NFL from the 1950s until Alex retired in 1970. His father, Ted Karras Jr., played during the 1987 season. He is also the seventh family member over three generations to play football in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. Ted attended the same school, Saint Matthew Catholic School in Indianapolis, Indiana, (K-8) as Nick Martin of the Houston Texans,

Zack Martin Zachary Edward Martin (born November 20, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fig ...

of the Dallas Cowboys, and

Cap Boso Casper "Cap" Boso (born September 10, 1963) is an American former professional football tight end who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Bears. Boso attended and played football for ...

of the Chicago Bears. Karras is a self-proclaimed fan of and trivia expert on ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' TV series.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karras, Ted 1993 births Living people American football offensive linemen Illinois Fighting Illini football players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Indianapolis Cincinnati Bengals players Karras family (American football) Cathedral High School (Indianapolis) alumni Kelley School of Business alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni