Much has been made about the Cincinnati Bengals’ offseason and their financial decisions.
With Tee Higgins not participating in OTAs and minicamp due to not signing the Franchise Tag and Ja’Marr Chase only minimally participating, there has been a little anxiety. Well-founded worries or not, they’re there.
.@_teddy_k has been EXTENDED!https://t.co/kM8xFWMjGS | #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/sfOAForzCj
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) June 13, 2024
Elsewhere, there are a handful of players set to be free agents after the 2024 season. One of those pending free agents has been extended. Prior to the 2024 season, the Bengals extended Karras, an integral cog in the offensive line.
The team inked its center to a one-year extension on June 13. As of now, the financials have not been released. Karras signed with the Bengals before the 2022 season as part of the front office’s offensive line overhaul.
It was then that he singed a three-year, $18 million deal. As a member of the Bengals offensive line, Karras has been a stalwart. He’s started all 36 possible games for the team, including playoffs.
Additionally, he’s played 99.2% of possible snaps for the team (2,379 of a possible 2,398). Karras has turned into a fan favorite among Bengals fans for his passion (seen here in Tennessee) as well as his philanthropic efforts. His “Cincy Hat” business has exploded in Cincinnati and has raised money for The Village of Merici, an Indianapolis-based community that provides services for adults living with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
He was the Bengals’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee and even won the fan vote before Cam Heyward took home the official award.
Clad in his iconic “Cincy” hat at his signing, Karras said: “I’m grateful the Karras family and the Brown family get to keep working together because we’ve both been in the league for a long time,” said Karras, on his way out to the last practice of mandatory minicamp.
“It’s the first time we’ve come together and been on the same team. I love what they’re doing. The ultimate goal is to get it done. I want to get it done for Mr. Brown and the Brown family and we have the guys to do it.”
The Bengals signed Karras from New England where he spent the 2021 season. Before that, he was with the Miami Dolphins for just the 2020 season. Prior to Miami, Karras was with the Patriots from 2016 through 2019.
He has been an integral part of the Bengals’ offensive line. There was a feeling that Matt Lee, the Bengals’ seventh-round pick, was to be groomed to take Karras’ spot after this year. If that’s the plan, he will have to wait another season.
Now that Karras is taken care of, who is next? Will Chase break the bank? Or will Evan McPherson, B.J. Hill, or Mike Hilton get theirs?
