‘We’re Going To Go Hard Forever”
Center Ted Karras found out he had been named the winner of the Bengals’ NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award right after Thursday’s walkthrough.
Not great timing for one of the team’s more intense players, a guy who even gets jacked up at walkthrough making sure he’s got all the calls.
Karras, the index cards in his head still fluttering, was sent to the Paycor Stadium media room, where he thought he was going to be interviewed by a national media member.
“I thought maybe Bridget Condon,” said Karras of the NFL Network personality. “I wasn’t in a good mood. I love Bridget Condon, but I was preparing myself to get rid of the angst I had from walkthrough to give a good interview.”
Instead, his entire family greeted him with word that he had been named the Payton winner for the second time in three years for his work with the Cincy Hat Foundation he founded in 2024. That was two years after the Hat took Cincy by storm and shed light on his commitment to providing housing and services for adults with intellectual and development disabilities with the proceeds benefitting Village of Merici, a living community and service provider based in his hometown of Indianapolis.
Since he won the fan vote in the Man of the Year Nationwide’s Charity Challenge in 2023, Karras’ foundation has bolted to new heights in hooking up with more than 150 businesses, nonprofits and schools.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Karras said after Thursday’s practice. “This community is underserved throughout the nation. There’s a humongous need for apartments and living areas. There’ll never not be enough work to do, so we’ll go hard forever.
“This town has so much synergy with the IDD community. There are so many people working towards this mission with bettering the lives of these individuals. It was destined to be in this town and on this team.”
Karras says his foundation is building a facility in Cincinnati’s Madisonville section. He’s also working on projects with Bengals Ring of Honor member Ken Anderson and his Ken Anderson Alliance, a foundation that also focuses on living areas for the adult IDD community.
Karras took note this week of Anderson’s advancement to the Pro Football Hall of Fame final ballot and recalled he’s not only an NFL MVP (1981), but an NFL Man of the Year (1975).
“I’m a big Ken Anderson guy. I think he’ll get in,” Karras said. “I think Cincinnati is underrepresented (in the Hall of Fame). He’s one of the best quarterbacks in a storied franchise in the NFL. There’s no better fit than Ken Anderson.”
