Ted Karras has spent his Bengals tenure doing exactly what Cincinnati hoped he would do when it brought him in to anchor Joe Burrow’s offensive line: show up, steady the middle, and raise the standard around him.
That reliability has been a big part of why the signing landed so well in the Zac Taylor era. Karras has been nearly automatic for Cincinnati, missing just one regular-season start, and he heads into the 2026 season as the starting center, with the possibility that it could be his last run in that role.
At 6-4 and 310 pounds, Karras is 33 and will turn 34 next March. He played at Illinois, grew up in Chicago, and is in his 11th NFL season.
His path to becoming one of the league’s more respected centers took time. He was mostly a right guard at Illinois, then the Patriots took him in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He bounced between guard and center early on, but didn’t lock in as a regular starter until 2019, when he started 15 games at center.
A one-year deal with Miami gave him a full season as a starter there, with Karras starting all 16 games. He then returned to New England on another one-year contract in 2021 and made starts at left guard. Cincinnati signed him in 2022 to a three-year, $18 million deal, and he has become one of the most popular players in the city since.
The Bengals doubled down with a one-year extension in June of 2024 that keeps him in Cincinnati through 2026. That deal was worth $6 million and included $3 million fully guaranteed. His 2026 base salary is set at $3.4 million, plus a $100,000 workout bonus, and his cap hit comes in at $4.5 million, which is 1.49% of the team’s total cap space.
What makes Karras more than just a solid veteran is the way teammates respond to him. He brings a loud, competitive edge, and he has a reputation for pushing the standard in the room.
Dexter Lawrence put it plainly after a recent training camp practice: “I love him. He’s probably the most competitive guy I’ve ever been against in practice,” Lawrence said.
“It’s a joy. In practice it’s easy to lose that edge, but he helps you keep it with how much of a pro he is.”
That kind of respect matters because Karras has earned it on the field, too. He has been a dependable center for Cincinnati even when the guard play next to him has wobbled at times. This year, though, the Bengals are set to open with the same five starting offensive linemen they had the year before, which is a first in Burrow’s career.
Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims are at tackle, Dylan Fairchild and Dalton Risner are at guard, and Karras is the captain in the middle. If that group stays healthy, Cincinnati believes it has the kind of line that can keep Burrow upright and create room in the run game.
There’s also the contract-year layer. Connor Lew, drafted in 2026, is now on the roster, so the 2026 season could mark the end of Karras’s time in Cincinnati.
For now, though, the Bengals still have the veteran they wanted when they signed him: a proven center, a trusted leader, and a player who has already won two Super Bowls. If he can help deliver the Bengals’ first one, that would be a fitting finish.
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