Was Former Patriot Victim Of Wild Cheap Shot In Bengals-Titans?

It got lost in the shuffle of an eventful Week 4 in the NFL, but a former Patriots offensive lineman was on the wrong end of what looked like a particularly wild cheap shot Sunday.

Bengals center Ted Karras took an apparent knee drop from Titans defensive tackle Teair Tart in the fourth quarter of Cincinnati’s eventual loss to Tennessee. Karras spent five of his first six NFL seasons in New England before signing with the Bengals in 2022.

Now, there’s some debate over whether Tart hit Karras willingly, or did so accidentally after being pushed in the back.

Here’s one look:

Tart hits Karras with a modified Nature Boy knee drop at the end of this play. That's not legal pic.twitter.com/gEFB9ljc6g

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 2, 2023

And here’s another:

pic.twitter.com/Zxlnab9dWC

— not kevin durant (@nevkinturand) October 3, 2023

If you ask us, that wasn’t a strong enough “push” to make Tart fall knee-first on Karras’ throat. It sure looked intentional.

But the jury is out. As of late Tuesday morning, there was no indication the NFL planned to look into the play. We’ll see if that changes in the days ahead.

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However, if Tart hit Karras intentionally, what could’ve motivated such a cheap shot?

Perhaps it was nothing more than something weird that happened in the heat of battle. But you also can’t ignore the recent history between the Bengals and Titans.

After a road win over the Titans late last season, Karras talked a ton of trash while leaving the field. “Up yours Tennessee,” he said before firing off an expletive. And, before Sunday’s rematch, Karras said he had “no regrets” about what he said last year.

There are some dots to connect there, and you don’t need to squint hard to see them.