Patriots could be without center Ted Karras vs. Chiefs

The New England Patriots might be forced to play against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14 without their starting center Ted Karras.

The New England Patriots have already displayed a lackluster offense on several occasions this season, even against the shoddier teams in the league, but against the Kansas City Chiefs coming up in Week 14, they might be down even more talent from their offensive front if starting center Ted Karras cannot play.

NFL reporter Ian Rapoport says that Karras is believed to have sprained his MCL in the Pats’ loss to the Houston Texans in primetime on Sunday night in Week 13. If so, it’ll be hard for him to suit up and be ready to face the Chiefs defensive front in another primetime matchup among two of the Super Bowl hopeful teams in the AFC.

Karras has been a backup in New England since he was the team’s sixth round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, this season, he stepped right up in David Andrews‘ role as starting center after the Patriots lost him for the season and placed Andrews on injured reserve. Karras has performed admirably in the role and the injury will further test New England’s depth and talent along the offensive interior.

This could be good news for a team like the Chiefs who have come on strong in recent weeks on the defensive front. Chris Jones and Frank Clark have formed a tremendous tandem and the unit overall has a nice rotation with several players capable of disrupting the pocket.

Karras is part of a great lineage of NFL history as a third generation player following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. The most famous player in his family was the great Alex Karras, a great uncle, who was a four-time Pro Bowler at defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions through the sixties.