Miami Dolphins
On April 4, 1995, the Dolphins traded a second and third-round draft pick for Armstrong. He was acquired to fill a role as a designated pass rusher, a player who comes into the game in likely passing downs in an effort to give the team's pass rush a boost. This is a role Armstrong filled the rest of his career; however, in five seasons, injuries to the starting ends forced Armstrong into a starting role. On October 12, 1995, Armstrong signed a five-year $8.9 million contract extension with the Dolphins.
In 1996 Armstrong started nine games and recorded twelve sacks. He remained the starter in 1997 and returned to the "designated rusher" role in 1998. He was named as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Week for postseason games played January 8–9, 2000. In the Dolphins 20–17 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, January 9, 2000, Armstrong helped a defense which limited Seattle to 32 total yards in the second half. He registered five tackles, three sacks and one quarterback hurry on the day.
He led the AFC in quarterback sacks (16.5) in 2000 with the Miami Dolphins while recording 7 forced fumbles, also a career-high. He also made the Pro Bowl for the only time in his career. He did this despite not starting a single game, making his the first so-called designated pass rusher to go to the Pro Bowl since Fred Dean was voted to the 1983 post-season all-star game.
Read more about this topic: Trace Armstrong, Professional Career
Famous quotes containing the word dolphins:
“headland beyond stormy headland plunging like dolphins through the
gray sea-smoke
Into pale sea, look west at the hill of water: it is half the
planet: this dome, this half-globe, this bulging
Eyeball of water,”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)