Tag: Ted Karras

‘Angry’ Ted Karras likes the energy around his underdog Bengals before MNF

A veteran Bengals OL wants to get a win.

The Cincinnati Bengals enter “Monday Night Football” against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week as underdogs — a role it sounds like the players are starting to embrace again.

Sans Joe Burrow, those players don’t really have a choice. But as starting center Ted Karras told reporters mid-week, it’s all about embracing the chance to go and knock off a good team in front of a national audience.

“We’re bringing the energy and we’ve got a big prime-time game against a team fighting for the No. 1 seed in this conference. It would be nice to go knock them off on Monday Night Football,” Karras said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I’m just a little angry. That’s how I like to play sometimes. I think just in general we executed better just all 11 guys. A smoother, better practice. Guys came to work. Proud of the way this team is handling themselves. We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves the next six weeks.” ….

Beating the Jaguars to end a three-game skid files under easier said than done territory, especially because Karras’ offensive line will have to come up big in the running game.

But if nothing else, Karras and Co. certainly haven’t given up, as noted by the effort during last week’s loss to Pittsburgh.

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Ted Karras, Bengals offensive line looking for redemption

The Bengals offensive line wants to fix a serious problem.

The Cincinnati Bengals got back on track with the win over Arizona last week, yet not everything was up to par where players and the team would like it.

Take, for example, the offensive line.

While the new-look unit had a solid overall day and continues to move in the right direction, there was a notable lapse on a few short attempts that really stood out in a bad way.

Just ask starting center Ted Karras, who called multiple failures to convert “and-one” scenarios against the Cardinals “embarrassing” for the unit, according to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

It just goes to show that even in a dominant-looking win, this is the type of locker room that will nitpick to seek improvement everywhere. And from an outsider’s perspective, the team has invested far too many resources in the offensive line lately to see it come up so short in close situations like that.

While guys like Jonah Williams have impressed while playing a new position, the quest for overall improvement starts against the Seahawks and carries into the coming weeks.

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Bengals’ Ted Karras doesn’t regret viral Titans rant last year

Ted Karras is ready for another battle with Jeffrey Simmons.

Last time the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans met, Ted Karras had what was probably his most viral moment as a pro.

Marching off the field in Tennessee, Karras went on an expletive-filled rant that had much to do with the emotions of the game and the actions of Titans defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons.

A week later, Simmons was fined by the NFL for hitting Karras near the end of the game.

“No regrets,” Karras said, according to the Dayton Daily News’ Laurel Pfahler. “Justice was served. He (Simmons) got fined $11 grand. We’re gonna be back. It’s gonna be a grit-fest again. I’m sure they’ll have something for me. It wasn’t particularly at the Tennessee fans, but that’s what it was. I’m glad they didn’t get the stuff I was yelling at the Titans before that. It’s a game of a lot of emotion. It’s going to be another battle. This is a team built like an AFC North team, big, physical people and we need to go down there and even up our record.”

Karras kept his comments mundane, as expected, but it’s safe to presume the entire offensive line will keep in mind that it was Simmons on the ground and involved in multiple scuffles during victory formation last year.

If nothing else, it makes an already fantastic matchup all the more intriguing.

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How Mike Onwenu’s expiring contract could play out with Patriots

Will the Patriots reach a contract extension with starting guard Mike Onwenu?

The New England Patriots struck gold in 2020 when they selected a Michigan Wolverine in the sixth round of the NFL draft. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

Mike Onwenu bounced between right tackle and right guard, before finally settling in at right guard last season.

Although right guard is his more natural fit, he played right tackle earlier in his career due to need. Even though the Patriots have a glaring need at right tackle and a surging rookie at guard with Atonio Mafi, they want to keep Onwenu right where he is.

That decision, although puzzling, is well understood across the league. Onwenu is wildly viewed as one of the best guards in all of football, and he has improved every single year since 2020. He is up for a new contract, and the Patriots have yet to make any headway on it.

Many, including myself, want them to lock up Onwenu sooner than later, as the price for good versatile linemen continues to rise. That, and, the Patriots have a ton of cap space after 2023 with other roster spots to fill. They should without a doubt spend the cash on an elite, homegrown player, who’s job is to protect the most important player, the quarterback.

Unfortunately, the writing may be on the wall, as the Patriots rarely give any player a second contract. They feel that their scouting and development teams are better than most at identifying talent in the later draft rounds, especially on the offensive line.

The Patriots recently let Joe Thuney and Ted Karras walk, while also trading Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They clearly feel they can revamp the line on the fly, rather than having money tied to good veterans they developed. Onwenu could be the latest casualty to this philosophy.

That’s unless Matt Groh has anything to say about it. Groh has slowly taken more and more control behind the scenes in player personnel, allowing Belichick to control the team operations. Perhaps he could get a deal done.

In the 2023 NFL draft, the Patriots selected Mafi, an offensive guard from UCLA, and he has quickly shot up the depth chart, which is a sign that the team could be ready to let Onwenu walk. Onwenu had surgery in the offseason and has been on the PUP list since the start of camp.

The absences of both Onwenu and Cole Strange, who is dealing with a leg injury, has allowed Mafi to work at both left and right guard.

If Groh is truly in charge, it might make sense to pay Onwenu like a tackle, move him back to right tackle and allow Mafi to take the reins at right guard moving forward.

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Brian Callahan believes in strongest Bengals offensive line he’s seen yet

Bengals coordinator Brian Callahan says the 2023 offensive line is the best yet.

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The Cincinnati Bengals offensive line has been one of their weakest points offensively since Joe Burrow was drafted, even surrending 41 sacks last season, which was in the bottom ten of the NFL.

On the Locked on Bengals podcast, Brian Callahan, the Bengals offensive coordinator, said he thinks the line they have put together is the best one he has seen since he’s been with the team.

“I think it’s safe to say it’s the best group from top to bottom that we’ve had in our time here,” Callahan said. “I just feel really good about the direction we’re headed, the players we’ve added and the players we have.”

Orlando Brown Jr. left the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in free agency to join the Bengals and strengthen the left side of the line, and Jonah Williams is moving to right tackle after requesting a trade when Brown signed.

Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, and Alex Cappa return as starters on the inside of the line giving them what Callahan believes will be a very strong group to protect Burrow.

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67 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 67 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 67 jersey number.

The New England Patriots are officially 67 days away from their regular season opener.

So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 67 jersey.

Two names that jump out in the Bill Belichick era are Dan Koppen and Ted Karras. Koppen was a reliable center for New England for nine seasons and helped the team win two Super Bowls. He also earned his one and only All-Pro nod in 2007, when helping the Patriots go unbeaten in the regular season.

Meanwhile, Karras also has two Super Bowl wins under his belt with the Patriots, before jumping ship to help anchor the offensive line for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

With those two names in mind, here’s every Patriots player that has worn the No. 67 throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

75 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 75 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 75 jersey number.

There are 75 days left before the New England Patriots’ regular season opener at Gillette Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles.

We’re celebrating at Patriots Wire by counting down the days and listing every Patriots player to ever wear the jersey number of that particular day.

That puts us at No. 75 today.

It’s hard not to think of legendary nose tackle Vince Wilfork when it comes to the No. 75 jersey. He was a unicorn in the NFL both in talent and personality. There weren’t many players standing at 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds that could move like Wilfork, who finished his career with two Super Bowl victories, four All-Pro nods and five Pro Bowls.

But of course, he wasn’t the only standout to wear the number. Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 75 for New England:

Ted Karras reveals difference between Bengals and Patriots, Bill Belichick

Interesting comments from Ted Karras on the Bengals, Patriots and Bill Belichick.

Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras has been an interesting name to watch in the locker room over the last year or so.

After all, a guy who played under the “Patriot Way” with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots now gets a close and personal look at how Zac Taylor’s program with the Bengals does things.

Karras recently talked about the differences he’s seen in the approach from both guys and organizations while chatting with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

“Bill would talk about 30 to 40 minutes a day. That’s how that program was structured,” Karras said. “I loved listening to Bill. It’s just a different style and we had great camaraderie on those teams, too. This one is different … It’s less militaristic. The credit for the culture goes to Zac, Duke, Mike (Brown), Katie and Troy (Blackburn). Just being able to pick the right guys. It can’t work if you’ve got guys all over the place. You look from top-to-bottom in this locker room and you’re not going find any (bleeps).”

Hobson noted that a planned Thursday meeting between the team and Taylor took all of three minutes before head athletic trainer Matt Summers took over (to talk about the new training room coming soon).

Like anything, fans shouldn’t read too much into early-June meeting lengths and overall chatter. But it’s always interesting to get a quick peek at how Taylor and the Bengals do things and what core pieces of the locker room have to say on those matters.

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Ted Karras sees perfection in Bengals’ offseason approach

Notable comments from a beloved Bengals veteran.

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Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals take on fewer offseason practices than most NFL clubs each spring by design.

And veterans like Ted Karras love the approach.

The recent rookie minicamp is a great example. As Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic noted, the Bengals only took six of the 16 one-hour sessions for rookies this year.

Karras says the lax approach to the spring is actually more helpful than some might realize.

“I always thought you never won a job in spring, but guys lost jobs in spring,” Karras said, according to Dehner. “The way we do it here is perfect. You can evaluate how people move, how people communicate, but we’re not killing each other.”

The whole idea has to be comfort food for Bengals fans — they’ve seen first-rounders like Jonah Williams lost to serious spring workouts. Yet under this new approach, the team keeps contending deep into the playoffs anyway.

Taylor’s approach to these things altered some out of necessity recently after that Super Bowl trip saw the team play the longest season ever under the new 17-game format. More rest time meant fewer injuries before training camp and an emphasis on the mental side of the game.

Granted, Taylor says the fact he keeps returning all important coordinators helps. He also says things would ramp up if coaches got the sense the players needed it. But in a testament to the culture of the locker room, that hasn’t been an issue.

Coming from Karras, who has played under the likes of Bill Belichick, the comments seem like another affirmation of the approach working.

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What does Ex-Patriot Shaq Mason’s new contract mean for Mike Onwenu?

Will Shaq Mason’s new deal impact ongoing negotiations between the Patriots and Mike Onwenu?

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Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Shaq Mason signed a brand new, three-year, $36 million contract with $22 million in guaranteed money with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.

Mason, 29, was acquired by the Texans in March, almost a year after the Patriots shipped him off to Tampa Bay to shore up the line in front of Tom Brady. With Brady now retired and the Buccaneers likely in a rebuild, they shipped off an elite guard to a team looking to protect their young quarterback, who we now know is C.J. Stroud..

With Michael Onwenu entering a contract year after performing well above his sixth-round pick status, the Patriots may have an understanding of the guard floor for that next contract.

In a previous article, I mentioned that the Patriots may be planning for life without Onwenu, but if they wish to retain young, homegrown talent, it feels like a contract of four years, $48 million is the starting point for the team in negotiations.

Onwenu is at the top of his position in terms of play and will likely cash in during the 2024 free agency period. However, with the Patriots only having 39 players under contract for 2024 and an estimated $100 million in cap space, they have the means to make it work. Even more so, the NFL salary cap continues to rise year after year with new money. So a $12-$14 million guard contract may seem silly now, but in a few years, the market will eventually even out.

The only thing that may hinder any contract negotiations is if the Patriots philosophically believe in their approach to draft the next guy and replace outgoing linemen, like they did with Ted Karras and Joe Thuney.

Frankly, I find that to be a good approach when you’re getting close to the cap, but with a 25-year-old, elite guard that has tackle flexibility sitting on the roster, they should do right and extend him early.

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