One of the big gets for the Miami Dolphins this offseason wasn’t necessarily an individual player — but rather the arrival of several players from other teams around the league that gravitated towards playing for the Dolphins despite the team’s lack of success. In many cases, such as that of Kyle Van Noy, Byron Jones and Ted Karras, players came over to Miami from locker rooms with a winning pedigree without second thought. Their experience and understanding of what it takes to win will be a critical component in Miami’s own evolution as a squad.
And, in the case of offensive lineman Ted Karras, Miami offers plenty to be excited about — even if he is no longer playing with the most accomplished quarterback of all-time in Tom Brady. Karras met with the South Florida media yesterday via Zoom and on numerous occasions offered praise for the Dolphins and what the team is positioned to built. Even his new quarterback — although he’s not Brady — has Karras excited for the season ahead.
“I’ve been a fan (of Ryan Fitzpatrick) for a long time. I love the way he plays. We definitely communicated a lot this spring. I’m really excited to start getting in-person, start getting some reps together; but I love the way he plays,” said Karras.
“He’s been a great leader and very welcoming to me so far, so I’m really excited to get to work with him and play some ball.”
That is precisely the gravitational personality that won Fitzpatrick this locker room last year — and to have a newcomer like Karras see it from afar only reaffirms why the man known as “Fitzmagic” was able to ignite the team in the season half of the season. But for Karras, it isn’t just Fitzpatrick that has him excited about suiting up in South Florida. In looking at the offensive line group and the depth the Dolphins have suddenly pooled together, Karras thinks the unit is in for a slugfest this year at training camp.
“I’m excited to get in with (the offensive line). There’s some big dudes coming in, yeah. We’re going to have a pretty big o-line and that’s exciting, and everyone’s been working hard,” said Karras.
“I’m really excited just to get together whenever that may be, but I think it’s going to be a really good competitive camp. Everything is going to be competition and we’re going to have the five best guys out there Week 1 and start putting it together.”
Karras, no stranger to competition after fighting Patriots center David Andrews for the starting role in New England, has seen firsthand what a competitive race to nail down starting gigs up front can produce — the Patriots have one of the deeper starting lines in all of football. Hopefully Karras’ tenure in Miami will extend beyond the 2020 season and he can be apart of another strong interior group here for the Dolphins. But the first step to that reality comes with him putting his money where his mouth is and winning himself the starting job this season.
At the very least, we know he’s excited to get started.