A Terron Tribute

Terron Armstead battled injuries but gave the Miami Dolphins three very good seasons

Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead (72) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field last Thanksgiving. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Terron Armstead retired from the NFL after three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and he should be remembered more fondly than some frustrated fans are going to want to do it.

Injuries unfortunately were at the forefront with Armstead in those past three years, continuing a pattern that existed throughout an NFL career that began with the New Orleans Saints in 2013.

But the injuries shouldn't diminish the fact that Armstead was a very good player for the Dolphins, easily one of the best tackles in franchise history.

Armstead, in short, absolutely lived up to his billing at the time the Dolphins signed him as a free agent during the 2022 offseason, a talented tackle with an unfortunate history of injuries.

WHAT ARMSTEAD BROUGHT THE DOLPHINS

While it was Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Waddle who got the headlines for the offensive numbers the Dolphins put up in Mike McDaniel's first two seasons before things went south in 2024, Armstead was the anchor of an offensive line that took a lot of arrows but also was good enough to allow the skill position players to do their thing.

Armstead was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons with the Dolphins, and played well enough in 2024 that he was graded by Pro Football Focus as the fourth-best tackle in the entire NFL behind only Jordan Mailata of the Philadelphia Eagles, Rashawn Slater of the L.A. Chargers and Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions.

With the two Pro Bowl selections, Armstead joined Richmond Webb (seven times), Jake Long (four) and Norm Evans (two) as the only Dolphins tackles selected more than once.

In terms of ability and all-around performance (pass protection, run blocking), Armstead actually is right up there with any of them, though he loses points for durability.

THE INJURY BUG THAT WOULDN'T GO AWAY

As we said earlier, injuries unfortunately were the topic of discussion way too often during Armstead's time with the Dolphins.

At one time or another over the past three years, Armstead was dealing with a shoulder, hip, foot, knee or any body part you can envision.

The injuries caused Armstead to miss two starts in 2022, seven in 2023 and two more in 2024.

But it's not like Armstead was a soft player unwilling to play through pain. He revealed toward the end of the 2022 season a doctor recommended he had foot surgery after a Week 1 injury and then said at his retirement party Saturday, per Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post, that his knee issue last year was significant enough that he's been told he'll need a knee replacement.

So what we have here is a player who never could buy any luck when it comes to injuries.

He still persevered, though, and was able to match his career high with 15 starts last season. No, it wasn't ideal that he barely practiced or that he had to leave a couple of games early, but — make no mistake — the Dolphins were better with him than without him.

In the end, he wound up collecting some $47 million during his three years with the Dolphins after signing a five-year contract that could have been worth up to $75 million.

While the signing didn't bring the Dolphins to their primary goal of winning a playoff game — it's been long enough that we start with that objective — it's also impossible to call it a failure even with Armstead's injuries.

For the past three years, he was the team's best offensive lineman, as well as a mentor for a young offensive line trying to find its way.

It definitely would have been nice to see Armstead be able to operate at full health and reach his personal goal of a full NFL season, but that's the nice it worked out.

But Armstead can leave the Dolphins knowing he did some good work for them, and the Dolphins can feel comfortable that it overall was a good match.