Terron Armstead says the 2023 Dolphins were a ‘Super Bowl team’ if healthy

The Miami Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game in more than two decades, but former offensive lineman Terron Armstead believes a recent iteration of the squad would have been a “Super Bowl team” had it stayed healthy.

Armstead believes that the 2023 Dolphins, who went 11-6 and earned a wild card spot in the AFC, had a chance to win it all had they stayed healthy that season. Unfortunately, Miami was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Kansas City Chiefs.

“That 2023 Miami Dolphins team was a Super Bowl team,” he said. “Healthy, Super Bowl team. And not even perfect health. Not all 22 starters, no, but just not in the way that it happened for us. It was catastrophic injuries, bro.

“Torn this, torn that, done for the year. It wasn’t no rolled ankle, he’ll be back in two weeks. These were season-ending injuries. But just construction of the roster, everything that we had, the momentum that we had, confidence we was playing with, that’s a Super Bowl team.

“And it sucks that we just – that’s all we got from it is to be able to just say that, and we ain’t get a chance to go out and do it and prove it. But that’s the funny thing about sports, man. And all we got from it is the memories we do have, the success we do have and the failures we had too. We gotta appreciate all of it. But I think that was a Super Bowl team.”

Miami had a bunch of players in key roles that were injured by the end of the 2023 season, and in the playoff game against the Chiefs, the squad was missing five defensive starters.

The Dolphins had a chance to win the AFC East that season, but they lost to the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the regular season, losing the No. 1 spot in the division. That forced Miami to go on the road to Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs easily beat the Dolphins and went on to win the Super Bowl.

After losing to the Chiefs in that playoff game, Miami finished below .500 in each of the next two seasons, leading to some major organizational changes this offseason. The Dolphins have cleaned house at head coach, general manager and continue to make some key roster changes, releasing players like Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb.

While Armstead was clearly confident in the 2023 version of the Dolphins, fans never were able to see the full potential of the squad because of injuries.

Hopefully, the Dolphins will get back into the playoff mix sooner rather than later as they aim to win their first playoff game since 2000.