When the Miami Dolphins signed left tackle Terron Armstead this offseason to a five-year deal worth up to $87.5 million, they knew they were getting a player that wasn’t just going to show up on the field but was going to lead off of it as well.
To this point, he’s proved the Dolphins’ brass correct.
The left tackle hasn’t been participating in the offseason program because he’s recovering from his surgery, but he’s been seen instructing and guiding some of Miami’s other offensive linemen through technique.
After an OTA session on Tuesday, right guard Robert Hunt took some time to talk about Armstead’s impact on the group.
“Yeah, Terron has helped a lot of our guys out, especially us young guys,” Hunt explained. “He’s out there at practice working with some guys. He’s in the meeting room telling us what we can do, what he’s seen. He’s been doing this for a while so what he says, we definitely take heed and we listen to it because he’s done it. He’s been an All-Pro, he’s been to Pro Bowls, he’s been everything that we want to be in life pretty much. Everything Terron says, we take it in and we listen.”
He was asked what the former Saint has told him during their interactions, but Hunt wanted to keep it between them.
“For me, I don’t know,” Hunt said. “He tells me a lot of stuff. Some little technique stuff that I can work on to really take my game to the next level. That’s just something that I’m looking forward to, to keep working on this summer and also when camp comes. Hopefully in the season, it’ll roll over.”
In his career, Armstead has 93 starts. The three returning offensive linemen that are likely to start (Hunt, Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson) have 72 starts combined, so there’s a lot that he can teach these younger guys about the game at the professional level.
Armstead is expected to be ready to return to action during training camp, and from there, he’ll need to show the Dolphins that he can continue to be one of the best left tackles in the league. That will complete the second half of what Miami needed from the 30-year-old.