The Miami Dolphins will be without their high-value left tackle for the next month.
Miami is placing Terron Armstead on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered in last Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per a source. Armstead will miss a minimum of four weeks while on IR but is expected to return at some point.
Armstead has already missed some time in 2023, sitting out the first two games of the season before returning for Miami's Week 3 obliteration of the Denver Broncos. He suffered the knee injury late in the second quarter of their Week 4 defeat and did not return.
Earlier in the week, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that Armstead would not play "in the next game, but he will be playing again this season." With Armstead's IR placement becoming public information Friday, McDaniel confirmed that the tackle will be out for the next four weeks, but will be back eventually.
"He will return," McDaniel said Friday. "It's a scenario where Terron, he really doesn't waste a week without just totally captaining our team. He's fighting the urges to just be like, no, I want to go do this. He understands the long game with it. He understands what not being available for a certain amount of time [means]. He's embracing something that he's not excited about, but he's excited to do right by the team and he's excited to get himself back healthy. I can't talk about it enough, man. He is such a big part of what we're trying to develop within the locker room and I think guys really see his commitment to the team, especially when he's battling through stuff like that."
Armstead joined the Dolphins via a five-year, $75 million deal signed in March of 2022, securing a top-flight left tackle for a team that undoubtedly needed one after trading Laremy Tunsil to Houston in 2019. Armstead has maintained a quality level of performance since the move, but his absence will force the Dolphins to rely on veteran Kendall Lamm for the time being.
