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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

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 of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and was drafted in sixth round of the

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

by the New England Patriots, with whom he won two Super Bowl 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

before returning to New England the next season.

Professional career

New England Patriots (first stint)

Karras was drafted by the New England Patriots 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. 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, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 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. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

by a score of 41–33. Karras entered

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

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 where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3. Karras began the 2019 season as the Patriots' starting center after David Andrews was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

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 New England 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 and started the remainder of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals

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

Personal life

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

Lou Karras Louis George Karras (September 19, 1927 – September 20, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, until an eye injury prematurely ended his career. He played college foot ...

and Alex Karras, played in the NFL during the 1950s and 1960s, and 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 The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

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

Zack Martin Zachary Edward Martin (born November 20, 1990) is an American football offensive guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted 16th overall by the Cowboys in the ...

of the Dallas Cowboys, and Cap Boso of the Chicago Bears. His grandfather, his father, and Karras himself have all won NFL championships with the Bears, Redskins, and Patriots, respectively. Karras is a self-proclaimed fan of and trivia expert on ‘The Office’ TV series.

References

External links

Ted Karras college profile

New England Patriots 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 football family