After a successful 12-year career in the NFL, Terron Armstead decided to hang his cleats and retire. Having gone to five Pro Bowls as a left tackle, he knows a thing or two about facing young edge rushers. Giving an interview to SiriusXM NFL Radio, he gave a warning to all active tackles about a Matthew Stafford teammate, implying Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams struck gold by drafting him.
In a light-hearted interview, Armstead was asked about the players he is glad he won’t be blocking anymore now that his playing days are behind him. Without stuttering, Armstead immediately went to Jared Verse, who was a rookie for the Rams last season.
Armstead said “No. 1, he was a rookie from the Rams. That young boy Jared Verse? I’m cool. I’m good. I never gotta see that man again.“ He then added. “I’m OK with never seeing that young man again in my life. Bull rush different. Dawg, it’s different. You know that it’s coming. You brace yourself. He’s different. Jared Verse is different. He will be a Defensive Player of the Year one of these days. Mark my words.“
Armstead complimenting Verse should be a warning to the NFL
Having played for both the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, Armstead was as good a left tackle as you could find in the NFL. Not for nothing, he has 5 Pro-Bowl selections to his name and with 131 starts, he’s seen it all. That’s why him endorsing Verse speaks to the talent of the Rams’ edge rusher.
Jared Verse #8 of the Los Angeles Rams warms up before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC Divisional Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field on January 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Not only that, but Armstead was in the AFC and Verse was a rookie. This means they only faced once and that left a lasting impression on Armstead. Miami faced the Rams in So-Fi Stadium on Week 9 of last season. Verse had one sack, one QB hit, forced, and recovered a fumble. He was a nightmare to deal with.
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In general, Verse had 4.5 sacks, two passes defended, two forced fumbles, to fumbles recovered and 66 combined tackles. Out of those, 11 were tackles for loss and 18 were QB hits. He was selected to the Pro-Bowl and was the Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Rams didn’t take long to find Aaron Donald’s replacement
When the defensive tackle Aaron Donald retired in 2023, the Rams panicked a bit. For a decade, Donald was wrecking havoc on opposing offenses. When he decided to call it a career, L.A. needed someone to grab that spot as a threat on the trenches.
Not known for their defensive prowess, head coach Sean McVay and the Rams front office drafted Verse with the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Safe to say, this pick wasn’t a hit, it was a homerun. Verse immediately caused an effect on opposing teams and now the Rams know they can rely on him to create plays on defense.
Having as good a career as Donald is very unlikely. After all, A.D. was a 10x Pro-Bowler, 3x DPOY, Defensive Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Pro and had 111 sacks. If Verse can get half of that it can be considered a strong NFL career. His first step was winning rookie of the year and he did it, now it’s up to Verse to validate Terron Armstead’s prediction about him.
