Patriots’ Ted Karras will take ‘Blazing Saddles’ or ‘Porky’s’ over ‘Webster’

10:32 PM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If rookie New England Patriots guard Ted Karras’ success in the NFL is tied to his handshake, he’s going to crush it. One of the Patriots’ sixth-round draft picks (221st overall), the Illinois alum crunched one reporter’s hand after a recent interview, which is reflective of his style of play on the field.

“He’s a big physical kid,” Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia said. “We like those kind of players.”

The bloodlines of the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Karras are well documented.

He’s the latest to carry the football torch, as the seventh member of his family to play in the Big Ten. Among the family members he follows into the NFL are his late great uncle Alex Karras, an Iowa alum and four-time Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions who later became an actor and starred in the 1980s sitcom “Webster.” Also, …

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