Five-Time NFL Pro Bowler Terron Armstead on His Legendary Career, Rapping for the Madden Soundtrack, and the Player Who Hit Him the Hardest

He didn’t kill me at all. I had a great game against the guy. He kind of jump-started my career. It was like, All right, maybe this Armstead, he might be on to something. He held Trent Cole in check. But then going next week to Seattle, who ended up winning the Super Bowl, that was a different beast.

My favorite team of all time.

Listen, it was different. Different. That defense was insane, bro. Kam Chancellor almost broke my jaw through my helmet. He hit me so hard, bro, so hard. It was crazy. I went back to the sideline and told everybody, “Hey, watch out for number 31. He is coming downhill. Watch out.”

That was the best of the best. And I loved it. I had a great game. The crowd was insane. Sean Payton had these specialized earplugs in. He had them custom-made for every player, to where we couldn’t hear the crowd really. Everything was non-verbal, just off indicators. We had no communication. In the huddle, we had to read Drew’s lips because we had the earplugs in. It was crazy.

That definitely solidified that I belonged, like I can do it. Because I’m telling you, that defense is one of the best ever. I’ve had more moments throughout my career where it’s like, I’m nice, I’m really like that. But that was really my, you’re here for real now. This is the best of the best. You can compete on this level, you’re good to go, you can do this.

What were some of those other moments?

I think 2015, so my third year in the league, is where I became one of the notable tackles. I was a Pro Bowl alternate that year, and I was balling. I had my jump sets going. I had these different techniques going. Every week I was graded one of the highest tackles in the league. I probably was the highest graded tackle that year.

I’ve seen players come in and be content with whatever the situation is: practice squad, being a backup. Every time, I urge them all, you cannot stay in that place. That is a very replaceable spot. It don’t matter if it’s your best friend in front of you, your objective is to take his job. Plain and simple. I tell all the guys that.

Who do you feel like you learned the most from in your career?

Man, it’s a lot. I was just trying to be a sponge. Dan Roushar, my old O-line coach, Frank Smith, another O-line coach. Drew Brees, Jahri Evans, Ben Grubbs. Sean Payton. Seriously, I learned what a standard is. I learned what your daily intention is. I learned how important the details are, the small things, being somewhere on time. You know what I mean? Don’t be over this certain weight. I learned a lot throughout the way.

How was it going from Sean Payton to Mike McDaniel? That’s got to be a funny transition.

Yeah, pretty much polar opposites as far as personalities go. But they still have a lot of similarities though, man. Both of them see the game like very few others. They’re able to anticipate what the defense is going to do, what the response is going to be. They’re able to draw up things that I feel like very few people on the planet can do.

It’s hard to look up individual game stats for offensive linemen. So I thought I’d just ask you: What do you think your best game was?

I would say two. I had one against Myles Garrett, I think in 2019, elite battle. It was a toe-to-toe slugfest. Then the 2018 NFC Championship Game, I was balling balling. It didn’t matter who was out there. I was balling.