Ex-Pro Bowl OT Terron Armstead Talks Myles Garrett, AJ Brown & More with Rich

Terron Armstead sat down with Rich on The Rich Eisen Show and said what a lot of people were thinking about the Myles Garrett trade but were too cautious to say out loud: this is not an overreaction.

"This is not an overreaction, Rich," Armstead said. "That the Rams just got the piece that puts them over the top for the Super Bowl this year." And he went further. If this roster stays healthy, Armstead sees no reason the Rams cannot go undefeated and challenge the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The only caveat, he said, is health. The durability of these guys is the one real concern.

What makes that assertion land coming from Armstead is not just that he played 12 years in the NFL. It is that he actually blocked Garrett. In 2018, Saints versus Browns, Armstead said they had a one-on-one battle he would put in the top five all-time for offensive and defensive linemen. He told the crew at Good Morning Football it needs to be in the curriculum at the University of Football. His verdict on the matchup? "I shut him out." He is quick to add it was not easy, but the record stands.

He came in that week seeing Garrett's name in red on Sean Payton's color-coded scouting report. Red meant the best in the league. "He was red. And it was year two or three. I saw it and it pissed me off," Armstead said. "Like, how's he red already?" Now, Armstead said, that same report would show something richer than red. "It is gold," he said. "First ballot gold."

The context that makes the Garrett addition most striking came from a stat Armstead had pulled on GMFB before the interview. In his entire career, Garrett has played with a touchdown lead or more in only eight games. Eight. Armstead's argument is that Sean McVay's offense, built around Jared Goff and that prolific system, will hand Garrett comfortable leads on a near-weekly basis. "He might match his career mark by game nine," Rich offered. Armstead did not argue with it.

On Jared Verse and the Browns' side of the trade, Armstead was clear-eyed. Cleveland did not lose, he said. "I feel very strongly about Jared Verse. He's incredible. He has so much room to grow." The point Armstead kept returning to is that Verse is not yet Garrett. Garrett has done the work, and he is still improving, which Armstead called "crazy." But Verse has time and a franchise being rebuilt around young talent. Armstead's message to Verse was direct: "Receive this opportunity as that, as an opportunity for growth, to create his legacy."

When Rich asked about AJ Brown heading to New England, Armstead gave the Patriots credit without overcommitting. They got better. Drake Maye is a year more experienced. Brown and Mike Vrabel have history. But the AFC is too crowded to hand out Super Bowl predictions. Buffalo wants its division back. The Broncos added Jaylen Waddle. Armstead went with Baltimore as his pick to win the AFC North, pointing to new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and expecting more consistency from the Ravens offense than fans saw last year. "Declan will bring a sense of consistency, a system," he said. "It'll be more rhythmic."

The session closed with Armstead working through the Rams' schedule game by game in the win-loss game, going 16-0 before conceding McVay would rest his starters in the finale. Rich seemed skeptical. Armstead held firm. For a 12-year veteran who once held Myles Garrett without a sack and lived to talk about it with a grin, confidence is not a performance. It is a professional habit.