Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead set to return vs. Chargers; OT Fisher also active
Miami Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead is active for Sunday night’s game against the Chargers, making his return from a one-game absence because of a pectoral strain.
Armstead, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, has missed two games this season. He sat out last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers after injuring his pec against the Houston Texans in Week 12. His return isn’t much of a surprise after the Dolphins did not elevate any other offensive linemen from the practice squad prior to the game.
Armstead took to social media shortly before Sunday’s game, posting the message: “I’m back.”
The return of Armstead, who signed a five-year, $75 million deal in March, is a much-needed boost for an offensive line that struggled at times against the San Francisco 49ers. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked three times in the 33-17 loss and was pressured on 27 percent of his dropbacks, according to TruMedia. It’s the third-highest pressure rate Tagovailoa has seen this season.
“He’s a veteran that always wants to be out there,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “It killed him watching from the sideline. Every time we came off and didn’t score, he’d always come to me, ask me what I’m seeing so that he could relay it to the guys. He would relay something from the O-line to me and kind of ask me, ‘Hey, if you could just stay in this spot more than this spot, just because this guy is going to need a little more help.’
“So he’s kind of the visionary for the guys up front. He’s the captain for those guys up there, and we all respect him. So just seeing how much this means to him, football and what he’s doing to try to get back out there to play with us, it’s pretty remarkable. I think this is his 10th year or 11th year, and he’s up there in the trenches – that’s hard. That’s hard, so for him to have gone through all the challenges that he’s gone through and continue to go through, you have to be strong-minded.”
Offensive tackle Eric Fisher, who signed with the team on Monday, is also active. Fisher, a two-time Pro Bowler, is expected to be a reserve on the offensive line.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (knee) is inactive for the fourth consecutive game, leaving rookie Skylar Thompson to serve as the team’s backup to Tagovailoa.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said this week that Bridgewater was nearing a return to action.
“He knows when it’s ‘go time’ for his body and how his body needs to respond,” McDaniel said Friday. “We know we’re getting close. We’re not exactly sure when that is, but he’s doing a good job. He’s in a good space.”
Also inactive for the Dolphins: running back Myles Gaskin, cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, wide receivers Erik Ezukanma and River Cracraft (calf) and tight end Hunter Long.
The Chargers, who entered Week 14 allowing 25.8 points per game — the third-worst mark in the NFL — will be without multiple defensive starters. Los Angeles deactivated safety Derwin James Jr. (quad), defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day (knee) and cornerback Bryce Callahan (groin).
Quarterback Easton Stick, wide receiver Jason Moore Jr. and tackle Trey Pipkins III are also inactive, as is running back Sony Michel, the Plantation American Heritage alum who spent time with the Dolphins during training camp.
Dolphins don’t make him cry anymore
Singer and songwriter Darius Rucker’s hit song, “Only Wanna Be With You,” has been linked for over two decades with the Miami Dolphins.
It was all thanks to his lyric that says, “I’m such a baby, yeah, the Dolphins made me cry.”
Rucker, 56, who rose to fame in the 1990s with the group “Hootie and the Blowfish,” revisited the song in a tease for Sunday Night Football’s lead-in for Sunday’s game.
“Things are looking a little different a couple of decades later,” Rucker said in the segment. “The days of those Fins making me cry have dried up.”
Rucker did acknowledge that the Dolphins “had their hands full” playing against the guy (Justin Herbert) that came into the league one pick after “our guy” (Tagovailoa).
Rucker was the latest among a number of notable sports and entertainment celebrities to take part in the segment which include actors Rob Lowe, Bradley Cooper and Jon Hamm, basketball legend Michael Jordan and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle.
This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 7:18 PM.
