Former University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offensive lineman Terron Armstead announced his retirement from the NFL Saturday night.
Armstead played 12 seasons in the NFL, nine with the New Orleans Saints and three with the Miami Dolphins. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and one time All Pro selection.
“(The) 2013 NFL Draft was my first day on the job,” Armstead said during his retirement party Saturday night. “Today is my last.”
Armstead played in 135 regular season and 11 playoff games in the NFL. He started every game he played except for four games in his rookie season.
He played for UAPB from 2009-12 and was a three-time Second Team All-SWAC selection. In his senior season, he helped the Golden Lions win the SWAC championship with a 24-21 overtime win against Jackson State in Birmingham, Ala. That team was also named Black College Football Co-National Champions.
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At the 2013 NFL Combine, Armstead ran the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds, which still stands as the fastest 40 time by an offensive lineman in combine history.
The Saints drafted Armstead 75th overall in the 3rd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. New Orleans reached the playoffs as a wild card team Armstead’s rookie year, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 26-24 before falling 23-15 to the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks, who went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII. Armstead started both playoff games.
Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees spoke at Armstead’s retirement party.
“I will never forget the day that he showed up in our locker room back in 2013,” Brees said. “He didn’t start off that year as the starter, but it became evident very quickly that this guy was not only going to be a starting left tackle for us for a very long time, but he was going to be leader in our locker room, he was going to be a leader in our huddle, and he was going to be a leader throughout the league.”
The Saints missed the playoffs each of the next three seasons before qualifying for the next three postseasons. In 2018, Armstead’s Saints reached the NFC Championship Game. He started every Saints playoff game during his tenure with the team.
In 2019, the Saints named Armstead their Man of the Year and nominated him for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. In addition to various community service efforts in New Orleans at the time, Armstead also founded the Terron Armstead Foundation, which works with youth in his hometown of Cahokia, Illinois.
“One of the best things about playing in the National Football League is that it has given me the ability and opportunity to be a role model to young people and to give back to the community,” Armstead said in 2019. “If there is anything that I can do to make someone’s life better and to help them aspire to do more with their lives, I’m committed to doing it.”
The Dolphins signed Armstead in 2022. He started all 40 games he played in Miami including two playoff games before retiring.
Armstead will be inducted into the Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame later this month.