The AFC East has seen some seismic changes this offseason.
The division-champion Buffalo Bills parted ways with several veterans, including trading star receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. The Miami Dolphins saw turnover, including losing guard Robert Hunt in free agency and releasing several veterans. The New England Patriots ended two-plus decades of the Bill Belichick dynasty, starting over with first-year coach Jerod Mayo. The New York Jets went on an offseason binge, adding several big names like Tyron Smith, Mike Williams and Haason Reddick.
After Miami sputtered down the stretch last season, opening the door for Buffalo to take over the division, the AFC East feels wide open heading into the 2024 season.
Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead joined NFL Network's Total Access on Monday and said the focus in Miami is all about what the Dolphins can do in their own locker room, not worrying about what other clubs added or lost.
"It's all in-house, it's all in-house," he said. "We don't really look at all the other moving pieces within the division, or around the league, because we feel like we have enough. We're talented enough, we're skilled enough, we're tough enough, we just have to do. It's now time to show improvements, to show we can win those big games and live those big moments. So it doesn't matter who's traded, we don't look at that, we have enough to beat anybody at full strength, and that's really our mindset, it's our mentality. We have that confidence, but we just have to go out and do it."
The Dolphins stubbed their toe down the stretch, seeing a once-strong division lead evaporate, losing three of their final five games and getting bounced in the wild-card round in Kansas City. Defensive injuries and an offense that sputtered led to the collapse. Miami still owns star power with the likes of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa, Jaelan Phillips, Jalen Ramsey, Bradley Chubb, et al., but health will be a key factor in the Dolphins getting off to a good start.
Armstead returning to Miami after contemplating retirement helps keep some continuity on an offensive line replacing key cogs in the interior.
"In all honesty, the past two, maybe three seasons, I've taken time to have that evaluation period, to really process," he said when asked about retirement talk. "This game comes with a lot, a lot of physical, mental and emotional toll, so just really taking time to process and like I said, evaluate what I wanted to do. Because when I'm doing this thing, I would never want to be halfway in. Full commitment, full investment. So this offseason I was a little more vocal about that evaluation period, which raised a lot more coverage, but I went through that process for the past two or three years."
