Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead had a spring in his step as he announced his retirement from football over the weekend. That’s because the five-time Pro Bowl selection has been intently focusing on his health, dropping as much as 57 pounds since his freshman year of college.
In an exclusive interview with M&F, the 6’ 5” tackle explains why he decided to make some positive lifestyle changes during this off-season and, excitingly, what’s next for this unstoppable force at just 33 years of age.
The signs that Terron Armstead would go on to become an exceptional athlete were impossible to miss. Born in Cahokia, Illinois, he towered above most of his peers and displayed exceptional power. During his time at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, he was a mainstay on the football field while also competing in track as a shot putter, discus, and hammer thrower.
In fact, Armstead had such a good arm that he hit a shot-put personal record of 18.73 meters during the 2012 NCAA West Regional competition. He also had a career-high discus throw of 50.37 meters. “It was time-consuming, for sure, while trying to keep up with my academics” reflects the player of juggling both sports and an education. “But thankfully, my head football coach and my head track coach worked extremely well together, and they made it possible for me to be fully invested in both. I was only able to do three years [of track], though. I ended up leaving school after my senior football season, so that I could train and get ready for the draft. But I strongly feel like I had a chance to win the National Championship at shot put if I had been able to stay with track for that last season.”
Terron Armstead Is a Record-Breaking Offensive Lineman
Rather than throwing shot puts or the discus, the decision to throw himself into the NFL Combine in 2013 would pay dividends. The big man shocked scouts when he made a 40-yard dash in just 4.71 seconds, earning the fastest time of any offensive lineman — a proud record that still stands as of this writing. Armstead points out that there are plenty of players with longer arms or bigger hands, but the key to his progress was always owed to honing his best attributes. “I don’t have the biggest measurables, but explosion… I got that,” he confirms. “Being quick across the field, having that power and that pop is what I have.”
With such power and breakneck speed, it’s little wonder that Armstead was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. There, he made a huge impact on the team and continued to be a regular fixture despite the challenges of concussions and knee issues. Injuries would follow Armstead on a regular basis during his football career, but they would always struggle to keep up. In 2017, he tore his labrum in training but returned quicker than doctors predicted. Pushing through his knee problems, Armstead secured three Pro Bowls while with the Saints, but he also learned that his immense power had a flip side.
Terron Armstead Never Stopped Evolving as a Football Player
“What goes up, must come down,” jokes the baller, and he’s right. Football fans love to see 300-pound-plus players running, jumping, and tackling, but they don’t always focus on the toll that this takes on a player’s body. “I’ve been through it, that’s a fact,” says Armstead. “A lot of injuries, a lot of tough times, a lot of adversity. I’ve been knocked down quite a bit and persevered. ‘Perseverance’ is a word that I try to embody… never quit. Keep getting up. Keep going. I’ve had situations where injuries have come in at the worst possible time, just terrible. Whether it’s big games or playoffs coming up, things like that.”
In his own words, Armstead inspired his teammates and fans by always “taking each injury on the chin.” The passionate player always found a way to come back as a major threat to any lineup. Armstead’s epic power was responsible for scoring critical points and making for exciting action. He would throw himself into the mix with the same type of intensity he’d throw the shot puts. Fortunately, during his latter days with the Saints, he also began to understand, under the advice of team trainer and therapist, Beau Lowery, that his epic force required some harnessing.
“I’d just go, and carrying so much weight, and put out so much explosion,” he reflects. “I picked up a lot of soft tissue injuries. My muscles wouldn’t be able to sustain the force, so I tore a lot of things.” Despite his uncompromising physical style, Armstead points out that he never broke a bone in his career, but to control his torque, he shares that Lowery helped him to understand the “other side of it” by focusing on deceleration work and knowing when to “throttle down.”
Still, injuries are an inevitable reality on the gridiron. In 2022, Armstead suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle while playing his first season for the Miami Dolphins. Despite the significant injury, he returned that season and earned a Pro Bowl selection. He then followed that effort with his fifth Pro Bowl in 2023.
Terron Armstead Used the 2025 Off-Season to Tackle His Bodyfat Level
As the popular player began the 2025 off-season, Armstead decided to drastically change his body composition. He tells M&F that he’d hit his heaviest while still a freshman in college. “The largest number I’ve ever seen on a scale was 327 pounds,” he shares. “I was still around 320 pounds when I was with the Saints.”
In the last couple of years with the Dolphins, however, Armstead had been tentatively tackling his bodyfat, dropping down to somewhere between 300 to 310 pounds in recent games.
“As I was getting older, I wanted to keep taking weight off and take some pressure off my joints. I feel like it helped me in the latter part of my career,” says Armstead, noting that once the numbers on the scales began to fall, he wanted to keep going by making more of a concerted effort.
To that end, he now stands before us today at around 270 pounds. “This is the first time I’ve seen two-hundred-and-anything on a scale, since probably junior high school,” he laughs. The benefits have been serious, however. “My knee has been a really big issue for me the last couple years, so I just wanted to take some weight off that, and my back, just dealing with taking bull rushes for so long, so much impact and pounding with those collisions. So, it’s been about taking the pressure off my back and honestly, it’s been a huge difference, a drastic difference… I feel better.”
Armstead tells M&F that he kicked off his serious weight-loss journey by starting a three-day water-only fast with the aim of resetting his digestive system and reviving his cellular balance. It’s an approach that has been backed by scientific studies, too “I didn’t make the full third day,” he admits. “I folded and ate a salad for my dinner because I was working really hard at the same time.”
After his fasting period, Armstead says he went “cold turkey” This past New Year’s on processed foods and chips. The celebrated athlete also talked to experts like Dolphins’ nutritionist John Paranti and the team’s strength coach and Director of Player Performance, Dave Puloka to learn more about developing a better relationship with food.
Armstead explains that they both told him to make sure his eating regime remained sustainable. “Just don’t go fasting and starving yourself, and lose weight too fast, or you’ll lose muscle,” he says, sharing the sensible advice that he received. “I didn’t want that. I wanted to get fit and to be more healthy, take some weight off, and some pressure off the joints. That was my goal.” Now, 57 pounds lighter than during those freshman days, Armstead feels fresher than ever, concentrating on high protein, low carbohydrate meals, with lots of vegetables.
Armstead has worked with his chef, Ronnie King, to become more observant about everything that he eats—from those horrendous hidden calories in salad dressings, to the vastly different nutritional values in various types of breads, and he’s also swapping out his beloved chips for some nutrient-packed fruit instead, meaning that his salt intake has been significantly reduced.
“If I’ve got to choose between this and that, now I’m going to turn the package around and see the ingredients,” he says of his new-found mindfulness around mealtimes. “I love food. I want to have fun with it, and I want to try different things. So, I’ve expanded my palate — eating a lot more sushi now, and nigiri, and sashimi than I ever have before. “I’m not necessarily counting calories or making it a tough job… I’m having fun with. I still eat a lot, I’m just eating a lot more super-lean items!” Another calorie crusher has been boxing training. It’s awesome to see that Armstead is embarking on retirement with such a healthy outlook. And he appears to be tackling his longevity with the same gusto that earned him all of those athletic accolades.
Terron Armstead’s Athletic Highlights
- Illinois State Champion, Shot Put (2009)
- 4.71-second record breaking 40-yard dash for an offensive lineman (2013)
- Highest draft choice for a player from Arkansas-Pine Bluff (75th overall pick)
- 5 Pro Bowl selections (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023)
- 6-time team captain (2018-2023)
Pound for pound, Terron Armstead will be looked back on as one the greatest athletes in the history of the NFL. But with this new-found spring in his step, anyone who thinks he is saying goodbye to football can think again. As an observer and as a mentor, Armstead still wants to give back to the sport that has provided so much for him and his family.
Terron Armstead Is Excited for the Future After Announcing His Retirement
With his well-established Team Armstead Foundation, the inspiring athlete is keen to continue giving a leg-up to members of our youth who have fallen into the opportunity gap. He also tells M&F that he is excited about a number of other possibilities that will open up now that he has some additional time on his plate. “I feel like I’ve already had my hands in so many different avenues of life,” he explains. “I’m busy in business, and as an investor, as a philanthropist, and with my foundation, the community center. I’m busy as a father. I love my three kids: Triniti, Tatiana, and Tristan. They are athletes. My twin girls play basketball and my son plays basketball and football. So, we’re super busy with that alone and traveling and all those good things.”
Still, don’t be shocked if you one day see Armstead in the broadcast booth. “But for me, I think career-wise, I’m getting into this this media and broadcasting space that I enjoy. I love talking the game and not just football, either. It could be basketball. It could be business and finance, tech, whatever, you know what I mean?”
With his thirst for fitness knowledge, perhaps Armstead could continue to share what he’s learned in the fitness space too. “Muscle & Fitness, we could do that, absolutely,” he enthuses. “I believe that I’m able to explain things where it’s easily digestible. So, when I’m explaining football, I want to get a chance to break down the details of the game. Especially O-Line play and D-Line play that people don’t really know or understand. I want to be able to be a voice. Most importantly, I’ll be able to spend more time with the kids. I’ll be able to go to all the games and go to practices and see their development, their growth. And as they continue to go up with their level of competition, I’ll be there. I’m super excited for that part.”
For all his blood, sweat, and tears, Armstead looks back on his football career with great fondness. “I wouldn’t change a moment,” he shares. “Wouldn’t change a play, wouldn’t change a second. I would not. It’s made me who I am, and it’s all been a part of my journey and my story. I wouldn’t change one second. I’m blessed!”
