Armstead Brings Good News ... In More Ways Than One
Terron Armstead proved he could play elite-level left tackle for the Miami Dolphins last season despite not practicing very much, so it really shouldn't be a major concern that the media didn't see him at either of the open OTAs.
It also should surprise no one if Armstead is present but not working when the Dolphins conduct their three-day mandatory minicamp starting Tuesday.
It also was encouraging to hear head coach Mike McDaniel saying last week, while declining to reveal whether Armstead had offseason surgery after playing with a bunch of injuries in 2022, that the Pro Bowl left tackle should be ready for the start of training camp in late July.
“He’s been having a good offseason," McDaniel said. "I try to honor all the players with not really putting their business out on the street unnecessarily. I have no reservations about where he’s at. He has had his fill of watching practice, so he’s done everything in his power and I look forward to seeing him in training camp and I haven’t been given any reason to have hesitancy to this point at all.”
And if Dolphins fans needed or wanted another reason to be optimistic about where Armstead is physically, consider this weekend when he hosted a celebrity basketball tournament and football camp in his hometown of Cahokia Heights, Illinois.
Turns out Armstead actually played in the basketball event, which featured teammate Tyreek Hill, and while he wasn't necessarily going all out — as one would expect in this type of event — the fact that he was moving around certainly should be viewed as something positive.
ARMSTEAD'S REMAINING GOAL
In his first season with the Dolphins in 2022, Armstead lived up to his billing as a stud offensive lineman, earning Pro Bowl recognition for the fourth time in his 10-year NFL career.
But Armstead did fall sort of the one goal he really wanted to achieve, the one remaining item on his career: Playing a full season.
Because of injuries to four different body parts, per the injury reports, Armstead was limited to 13 games.
Armstead's injuries were significant enough that he barely practiced during the regular season, and the truth is having him in the lineup on Sundays was then and will remain this upcoming season the biggest priority when it comes to him.
"Absolutely, this is my job," Armstead said last August. "This is what I do for a living. This is how I feed my family. This is how I make my life. Ideally, all I want to do is play. All I want to do is play. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to do what we want to do. My injuries have been a result of a lot of different things, more so compounding, coming back too early and all those good things ... but I’m trying to get on that field every day, every play. This is what I do. I love it.”
ARMSTEAD'S NICE DEED
If we mention Armstead's weekend event, we'd be remiss not to include the really cool gesture he helped produce involving a middle school student who made the news after having to walk 6 miles to attend his graduation.
Armstead teamed up with a local dealership to present the family of Xavier Jones a Honda Odyssey, capping an inspiring story that saw Jones offered a college scholarship when he's done with high school.
Armstead, it should be noted, was the recipient last year of the Dolphins' Good Guy Award, handed out for the South Florida chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association to the player who best helped the media with his cooperation and his insights.
