‘He’s the guy.’ With Armstead’s retirement, the Patrick Paul era is officially here
Well, the cat’s out of the bag.
Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead will not return to the Miami Dolphins as he has elected to retire.
That means the Patrick Paul era is officially here, something Armstead himself is looking forward to.
“He’s the guy,” Armstead said of Paul at his retirement party Saturday. “It’s his time. He knows it. He’ll be ready. He’s a worker. He’s talented. Put those two together and you’ll have success.”
Luckily, Paul has spent the offseason as if he will start in 2025.
“I’m working towards being a starter and that’s all I have focused on — just being the best version of myself,” Paul said Feb. 22 at the Dolphins Cancer Challenge.
A 2024 second-round pick, Paul played sparingly as a rookie. His only action came mainly in relief of Armstead as he started just three games and played 337 snaps. The results were middling to say the least: out of 81 qualifying tackles, Paul ranked 79th, according to Pro Football Focus.
Still, coaches such as offensive coordinator Frank Smith praised his development.
“You can see with him the growth,” Smith said Dec. 19 after the Dolphins’ 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans. “It’s coming. Things that he’s learning from, putting himself in better position, the physicality. So really excited for him this week especially from a lot of the things we saw positive from the Houston game.”
Paul is far from a finished product. He’s raw — but still the guy who allowed just two sacks in 1,053 pass-block snaps during his junior and senior season at Houston. That hasn’t quite translated to the NFL as he gave up up three sacks in his three starts, according to PFF. For comparison purposes, Armstead gave up three sacks in his 15 games.
“He’s also got some opportunities in games, and you can get yourself up to the speed because it’s a different ball game from college to the pros,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Dec. 13. “So I think that not only just the actual reps, but the aid that guys like Terron [Armstead] and Kendall Lamm can give him are monumental for him to attack game day the way he wants to. So it’s worked out. You feel fortunate that guys with limited experience on our team, particularly a rookie, gets experience in a real way, not just on scout team. It’s a game changer to operate within the group.”
Armstead’s retirement means the Dolphins will return only two starters along the offensive line in center Aaron Brewer and right tackle Austin Jackson. The Dolphins signed James Daniels to field one of the guard spots while the other one is currently up for grabs, though Liam Eichenberg would start if the season began today. Armstead’s departure also creates a leadership void; just look at how fullback Alec Ingold described the five-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s one of the best pros I’ve ever been around,” Ingold said. “He doesn’t talk very much, but when he talks, people listen. He has a very unique leadership style to him. He’s almost like a father figure it seems like in the huddle. You can tell when he’s on the field, guys have confidence. All 10 guys outside of Terron have confidence when you see 72 in the huddle, and I think that carries over into the locker room. You see him and his presence; it’s calming, it’s confident, it’s not arrogant in the slightest and I think the more things that he’s doing off of the field, I think that bleeds onto the field, being a role model and example for a lot guys, myself included, looking up to his academy, his financial literacy work that he’s doing.”
Expect tackle Jackson and center Brewer to step up in Armstead’s absence while Paul settles into his role as a full-time starter.
