Kelly: Did we just witness Terron Armstead’s last snap with Dolphins? | Opinion
Terron Armstead might have played his last snap of the 2024 season, if not professional football on Sunday.
The Miami Dolphins’ left tackle has been a soldier, a warrior playing through pain the past three seasons. But the knee injury Armstead has been struggling with for the past month seemingly got worse on Sunday.
Three snaps into his starting role against the New York Jets Armstead, a 33-year-old who is a month away from completing his 12th NFL season, pulled himself out of the game.
“It just didn’t feel right,” Armstead said after the Dolphins’ 32-26 win over the Jets.
He was replaced by Patrick Paul, the rookie second-round pick who has served as his understudy all season.
When the second offensive drive of the game started Armstead tried the knee out for a second time, handling another two snaps before pulling himself again.
This time he spent the rest of that drive sitting by himself on the sidelines as players and coaches came by one-by-one to check in on him.
It was apparent everyone, including the five-time Pro Bowler, realized this was serious, an injury that might potentially require surgery sooner than later.
“This is very frustrating for him,” coach Mike McDaniel said, referring to Armstead’s battle with his troublesome knees, which he underwent a stem cell procedure on during the summer with the hopes that the unconventional treatment would allow him to play a full slate of games this season for the first time in his career.
Armstead has considered retiring the past few offseasons, and he has openly admitted the decision whether to continue playing becomes harder and harder to make each offseason.
And since he’s slotted to earn $14 million in 2025 it’s logical to conclude that the Dolphins will ask him to restructure his contract for the second straight year, reducing his salary to somewhere in the $8 million-or-less range, which is what he earned this season after being shaken down by the team.
But what happens if Armstead says no?
That means we might have possibly either seen him take his last snap for the Dolphins, if not seen the team captain take his last snap in the NFL.
“I feel very fortunate to have been able to sign him in 2022,” McDaniel said of the five-year, $87.5 million contract Miami signed Armstead to as a free agent coming from the New Orleans Saints that offseason. “We wouldn’t be where we’re at [as a franchise] without him.”
This is concerning because it means the pillar of the granite on an offensive line, which already needs to be rebuilt, might need to be replaced, and that won’t be easy.
Even with Armstead on the field the Dolphins run game has struggled the past month.
Heading into the Jets game the Dolphins had been averaging 2.96 yards per carry in the last four games, which is drastically lower than the NFL average of 4.42 yards per carry. Miami gained 44 rushing yards on 19 carries against the Jets on Sunday, which deflates the team’s measly 3.9 yards per carry average.
Now, injuries to Austin Jackson, who sustained a season-ending knee injury against the Bills, fullback Alec Ingold, who has been battling a calf injury, and tight end Julian Hill, who has been nursing a shoulder injury, have contributed to the run game struggles.
But expecting things to improve without Armstead is unrealistic.
Paul, the former Houston Cougar standout, has sparingly played this season (99 offensive snaps coming into the Jets game) because of how much Miami relied on Armstead.
He replaced him against the Tennessee Titans, the week after Armstead sustained a concussion in Miami’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and struggled in that 31-12 loss, allowing a sack.
Paul would play again in Miami’s 34-15 blowout victory against the New England Patriots three weeks ago, and handle a few snaps at right tackle in last week’s 30-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers when Kendall Lamm, Jackson’s replacement at right tackle, sustained an elbow injury.
“You don’t know how the development will work when you start it, but I’m more ready now more than ever,” Paul said. “I’m steadily climbing, trusting the process and trusting coaching. I’m 10 times better from the last time I was out there.”
If Armstead can’t play in the final four games Paul’s aware he’ll be thrown into the deep end of the pool, responsible for playing the most important offensive line spot, where he’ll consistently face the opposition’s best pass rusher.
But Paul’s coaches and teammates seem to believe the rookie has what it takes to eventually become a cornerstone left tackle.
“I can tell you I wasn’t calling plays around him. In games, one thing that’s a big deal when you do have a lineup change on the offensive line, you know a guy is playing well when you don’t have to adjust your playcalling,” McDaniel said. “I was not having to [call this play], but run right [instead]. Do this, but slide left. It was not too big for him. He has a lot of room to grow in this game, and he knows that. That being said, it felt like a big moment for him.”
In the locker room after Sunday’s win over the Jets the O-linemen joked with the rookie about the attention he was drawing.
“Our baby growing up,” a couple members of the Dolphins offensive line announced to the locker room.
“The future,” Lamm yelled.
Looks like we’ll soon learn if he’s right.
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 4:28 PM.
