The Miami Dolphins have two veterans who have decisions to make about their futures – decisions that could have big impacts on the team in 2025.
The 2025 NFL free agency period is slowing, with teams starting to focus on the Draft and college prospects. Some big decisions must still be made, and for the Miami Dolphins, those decisions include some big men. Defensive lineman Calais Campbell and offensive tackle Terron Armstead both have to decide if they want to keep playing in 2025 – and for Campbell if he wants to return to Miami for a second season.
On Monday at the NFL owners meeting in Palm Beach, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel met with the media. While the early part of the question and answer session focused on wide receiver Tyreek Hill, McDaniel was asked about the future of both Campbell and Armstead, and the potential that they could be with the team in 2025.
“Both guys – there’s a reason they’re some of our favorite guys – great communication with both of them,” McDaniel said before turning to Campbell.
Campbell signed with Miami in June last year as a free agent, looking to be the missing piece on defense that pushed the Dolphins into a deep playoff run. While the team underperformed, Campbell in his 17th season in the league, started all 17 games, recording 52 tackles, five sacks, five passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He was a menace in the middle of the Miami defensive line, and the Dolphins would like to have him back for 2025, though the 2019 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year winner will likely have plenty of interest as a free agent if he chooses not to retire.
“Calais specifically is in a unique situation where he is assessing multiple options as a player in the 45th year of his career,” a laughing McDaniel said. Turning more serious, he continued, “So I understand and there’s a lot at play in that with regard to all right, so your play is high, you decided to play another year; he’s assessing those options. He was a very important player to the team last year, and I see him having the opportunity to be a very important player on the team this year. I also see within that position group because of reasons of competitive disadvantage that I mentioned before, I can’t – I feel like we have some options at the position. He has some options. That position in particular has been a focal point of mine this offseason and I feel good about how it could play out and there’s a couple different scenarios it could play out.”
Armstead, who completed his third season in Miami and 12th in the league in 2024, is still under contact with the Dolphins, but could be considering retirement. He restructured his contract to drop to the league minimum, freeing up salary cap space for Miami while he decides what he wants to do.
As for that decision, McDaniel sounds more and more like he expects Armstead to retire, with second-year tackle Patrick Paul in line as the starting left tackle. “Terron – like I said at Indy, it’s important for me to operate as though he is unavailable to us,” McDaniel explained. “He’s a consummate professional that has earned this opportunity to figure out what he wants to do with his life, however I do feel in a reasonable amount of – I don’t know, what’s a reasonable amount of time? Reasonably, let’s say two weeks, I just feel he’s getting close. He’s getting closer to having conviction, but we’re in constant communication with him as well.”
McDaniel was asked if the team and Armstead would consider the veteran returning to the team, but working as a backup tackle rather than the starter. The coach replied, “That’s something that I think that will kind of be motivated by – the great thing about Terron and I is we have had unbelievable amount of conversations about his body and how he feels. And so I think tied into that, where he’s at relative to other years and how we can realistically forecast it, I think that’s going to kind of shape the answer to that question because it hasn’t ever been about Terron’s play. It’s been about how he’s been available and he’s been straining to be more available for us than probably a counterpart would; he’s played through a lot of stuff. I think we’re fortunate that we have a heavy amount of reps on the topic and we’ll be able to have a conversation about what that looks like because that will be clean when that comes, what he’ll be coming back as whether that – and if he would be even able to compete to be able to withstand the rigors of the season as a starter.”
Campbell and Armstead both have decisions to make. The Dolphins are giving them the time and space to make those decisions, though McDaniel did admit they have to get answers fairly soon to make sure the team is in the best place to compete for 2025. The team seems to be hopeful that Campbell will return while they are planning to not have Armstead.
Is that the right play? Will they be able to convince Campbell to return? Would Armstead come back as a veteran backup behind Paul?
Even with McDaniel’s latest update, there are still questions circling about two of Miami’s biggest players.