Ted Karras applauds Bengals for getting deals done with Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins

Cincinnati center Ted Kassas is feeling bullish about the Bengals following the team's early moves this offseason.

On top of some solid additions in free agency, the Bengals were able to lock up star wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both with new four-year deals. They also brough back productive tight end Mike Gesicki on a three-year deal.

Ted Karras is happy that the Bengals decided to pay their own players

After being called cheap for years, the Bengals demonstrated some willingness to spend to maximize the roster this offseason, and that has Karras excited for the future.

"We're keeping our best players in-house," Karras said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "That's a big strategy for winning in the NFL, developing high picks into good players and then retaining them. ... Those top three [Joe Burrow, Chase and Higgins], that makes us a very serious offense."

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Karras is ecstatic that the deals got done for Chase and Higgins, and he's also happy that they got done early in the offseason, so there was no drama or uncertainty lingering leading into the season.

"I think it's going to be a huge plus that we're not having like the hold in with Ja'Marr, so there's not that periphery distraction," Karras said. "Overall. it's not a big deal, I would say, in an NFL locker room, but it can when, it builds up like that, it can be a negative."

But, now that the Bengals spent big to keep their explosive offense in tact, there will be added pressure on the team to make a real run in the AFC after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons. Karras and his teammates are well aware of that fact, and they're embracing it.

"I think not making the dance two years in a row, the pressure is on us," Karras said. "I think everyone knows that and is taking it very serious."

Speaking of pressure, Joe Burrow was recently listed among the five quarterbacks under the most pressure to win a Super Bowl. So, it sure seems like handling pressure will be a theme for the Bengals -- both on and off the field -- in 2025.

They did a poor job of handling pressure on the field last season. As a team, the Bengals allowed 48 sacks in 2024, which was tied for the seventh-most league-wide. As the starting center, Karras is partly culpable there.

In order to get back into the postseason picture, the Bengals will need to improve in that area. They'll also need to improve when it comes to applying pressure on opposing offenses, as they recorded just 36 sacks as a team in 2024, which was the seventh-fewest in the league.