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If you could stack careers end to end, you’d have to start in 1996 – the year Zach Thomas was drafted – and continue to today to represent the experience that just walked out of the Miami Dolphins’ facility.
Calais Campbell and his 17 years of NFL experience are headed to the Arizona Cardinals.
Terron Armstead and his 12 years are retired.
There isn’t an NFL franchise in existence that wouldn’t miss the leadership they bring to a locker room. Nothing says that better than the fact that teammates voted both men captains right after they arrived in Miami Gardens, maybe even before everybody had the names and faces all matched up.
Retiring Miami Dolphins LT Terron Armstead played despite knee-replacement diagnosis
So, now what? Who’s going to be the one to steady the ship when things are going terribly badly or absolutely great? Who’s going to pull the rookies aside to let them know what it takes to be a professional? Who’s going to keep a position group out on the practice field a few extra minutes to iron out the wrinkles?
“Me and Calais, we’ve definitely seen a lot of ball,” Armstead said at his retirement party in Miami this past weekend. “We’ve seen a lot of players. We’ve seen a lot of conflicts. We’ve seen a lot of interaction. All that. So we’re able to talk through certain things.”
Campbell is 38. Armstead is 33. Anybody could see this day was coming; it was only a matter of when. Just as the Dolphins had to move on when Dan Marino and Thomas and Jason Taylor played their last down, these Dolphins also must.
“Now with both of us leaving, the knowledge is there,” Armstead said. “The groundwork has been laid.”
If you’re a Dolphins fan, you have to hope that groundwork takes root.
Because at the moment, there does appear to be a leadership shortage.
Keep in mind that the 2024 captains were Tua Tagovailoa, Alec Ingold, Tyreek Hill, David Long, team MVP Zach Sieler, Jalen Ramsey, plus Campbell and Armstead. Long didn’t even last the season. Hill? Who knows?
So in 2025? Clearly Tagovailoa, as the franchise quarterback, has to set the tone in the huddle. Each year he seems more comfortable as a leader. Ingold and Sieler are two level-headed veterans who aren’t afraid to say what’s on their minds. Mike McDaniel should be happy if theirs are the foremost voices in the locker room.
Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey also are likely captains for 2025, with Jordyn Brooks a candidate to lead the linebackers.
Yes, that still leaves the question of who’ll be the glue on the offensive line. Austin Jackson will be a sixth-year veteran with the most seniority, but he’ll need to become more vocal to fill Armstead’s old role. Center Aaron Brewer might be the leader in the clubhouse, but we still don’t know what sort of off-field impact guard James Daniels will have.
It is, one supposes, a sign of this free agent era in which half the team disappears from one year to the next. Hard as it may be to believe, half the captains from 2023 are gone. Still around are Tagovailoa, Ingold and Hill. Gone: Armstead, Christian Wilkins, Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland. Reminder: That was just the season before last.
The current uncertainty as it relates to the O-line is significant. What if no one clears his throat and speaks up?
“The O-line knows what it takes as far as work,” Armstead said. “I came in and I instilled that, early. Every off day we’re on the field. We have to get better. We’re not good enough. And the honest truth is you’ll never be ‘good enough.’ So every day you’ve got to do the work because you’re not good enough.”
Being that leader doesn’t mean riding teammates 100% of the time. On Thursday nights during the season, the offensive linemen could be found sharing dinner and stories and laughs. Pity the guy who ended up picking up the check. Armstead himself once fashioned himself as a defensive lineman. What happened?
“I enjoyed the dinner table a little too much,” he said.
In what is far from a first for a recently retired offensive lineman, Armstead actually has slimmed down since hanging up his No. 72 jersey. He’s a fan now, and he’s bullish on the Dolphins.
“The team is explosive,” he said. “The team is close. Tua is under center, we can win every game.”
Winning one game – one playoff game – would be a good start.
Actually, that’s not quite right. First, you’ve got to find the right leaders.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected].Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
Click here to subscribe.
Devin Hester 'grateful and honored' to represent West Palm Beach in Pro Football Hall of Fame
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Terron Armstead, Calais Campbell brought lot of leadership to Dolphins
Continue reading...
Calais Campbell and his 17 years of NFL experience are headed to the Arizona Cardinals.
Terron Armstead and his 12 years are retired.
There isn’t an NFL franchise in existence that wouldn’t miss the leadership they bring to a locker room. Nothing says that better than the fact that teammates voted both men captains right after they arrived in Miami Gardens, maybe even before everybody had the names and faces all matched up.
Retiring Miami Dolphins LT Terron Armstead played despite knee-replacement diagnosis
Terron Armstead, Calais Campbell the voices of reason in 2024
You must be registered for see images attach
So, now what? Who’s going to be the one to steady the ship when things are going terribly badly or absolutely great? Who’s going to pull the rookies aside to let them know what it takes to be a professional? Who’s going to keep a position group out on the practice field a few extra minutes to iron out the wrinkles?
“Me and Calais, we’ve definitely seen a lot of ball,” Armstead said at his retirement party in Miami this past weekend. “We’ve seen a lot of players. We’ve seen a lot of conflicts. We’ve seen a lot of interaction. All that. So we’re able to talk through certain things.”
Campbell is 38. Armstead is 33. Anybody could see this day was coming; it was only a matter of when. Just as the Dolphins had to move on when Dan Marino and Thomas and Jason Taylor played their last down, these Dolphins also must.
You must be registered for see images
“Now with both of us leaving, the knowledge is there,” Armstead said. “The groundwork has been laid.”
If you’re a Dolphins fan, you have to hope that groundwork takes root.
Because at the moment, there does appear to be a leadership shortage.
Keep in mind that the 2024 captains were Tua Tagovailoa, Alec Ingold, Tyreek Hill, David Long, team MVP Zach Sieler, Jalen Ramsey, plus Campbell and Armstead. Long didn’t even last the season. Hill? Who knows?
Alec Ingold, Zach Sieler offer wisdom of veterans
So in 2025? Clearly Tagovailoa, as the franchise quarterback, has to set the tone in the huddle. Each year he seems more comfortable as a leader. Ingold and Sieler are two level-headed veterans who aren’t afraid to say what’s on their minds. Mike McDaniel should be happy if theirs are the foremost voices in the locker room.
Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey also are likely captains for 2025, with Jordyn Brooks a candidate to lead the linebackers.
Yes, that still leaves the question of who’ll be the glue on the offensive line. Austin Jackson will be a sixth-year veteran with the most seniority, but he’ll need to become more vocal to fill Armstead’s old role. Center Aaron Brewer might be the leader in the clubhouse, but we still don’t know what sort of off-field impact guard James Daniels will have.
It is, one supposes, a sign of this free agent era in which half the team disappears from one year to the next. Hard as it may be to believe, half the captains from 2023 are gone. Still around are Tagovailoa, Ingold and Hill. Gone: Armstead, Christian Wilkins, Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland. Reminder: That was just the season before last.
The current uncertainty as it relates to the O-line is significant. What if no one clears his throat and speaks up?
“The O-line knows what it takes as far as work,” Armstead said. “I came in and I instilled that, early. Every off day we’re on the field. We have to get better. We’re not good enough. And the honest truth is you’ll never be ‘good enough.’ So every day you’ve got to do the work because you’re not good enough.”
Being that leader doesn’t mean riding teammates 100% of the time. On Thursday nights during the season, the offensive linemen could be found sharing dinner and stories and laughs. Pity the guy who ended up picking up the check. Armstead himself once fashioned himself as a defensive lineman. What happened?
“I enjoyed the dinner table a little too much,” he said.
In what is far from a first for a recently retired offensive lineman, Armstead actually has slimmed down since hanging up his No. 72 jersey. He’s a fan now, and he’s bullish on the Dolphins.
“The team is explosive,” he said. “The team is close. Tua is under center, we can win every game.”
Winning one game – one playoff game – would be a good start.
Actually, that’s not quite right. First, you’ve got to find the right leaders.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected].Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
Click here to subscribe.
Devin Hester 'grateful and honored' to represent West Palm Beach in Pro Football Hall of Fame
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Terron Armstead, Calais Campbell brought lot of leadership to Dolphins
Continue reading...
