When the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Arik Armstead in 2024, it looked like they had gotten a steal. Although he was recovering from surgery, he was among the best defensive tackles in the NFL during his stint with the San Francisco 49ers. But shockingly, the Jags raised eyebrows when they had him line up mostly on the edge. Not surprisingly, he former Oregon Duck wasn't nearly as productive, which is why it was refreshing to find out he will be switching inside in 2025.
On a related note, Armstead wants to set the record straight and let everyone know that it wasn't his idea to play defensive tackle last year. He just recently had a one-on-one exchange with John Oehser of the team's official website and revealed that the previous regime wanted him to line up at defensive tackle despite the fact that he's more productive inside.
"Yeah, a lot of times narratives get created," Armstead responded when Oehser asked why he played defensive tackle last year. "But you know, the real of it is this, I was being pursued by multiple teams in free agency, and the No. 1 question for me was, how will I be utilized when I'm speaking to all these teams. I played defensive tackle for like, the past three or four years of my career, and was playing at a Pro Bowl elite level, and so it was by surprise to me when I asked how they wanted me to to be utilized, that they wanted me to play defensive end, and they wanted me to rush inside on third down, but primarily play defensive end."
Armstead continued, "And it was a little bit of a surprise to me, knowing that I played the tackle for the past two years, and have been pretty successful, but they wanted a big body at defensive end, a guy who could rotate with Travon and Josh. And when they presented the plan to me, I was like, Okay, let's do it. If that's the best plan that you guys see fit. And then shortly into the season, we were in London, I went to them and I said, I don't think this necessarily working out, I feel like I can have bigger impact on the team if I'm playing more inside, where I'm, a better pass rusher, and I'm on the field with Josh and Travon and the rest of the guys.
"And at that time, looking at the roster, it didn't happen. Even though I expressed that that's something that I wanted to do and I thought that would be better for the team, it didn't happen. But when you look at the roster, I don't know that kind of could've went into that, because when you look at the roster, we had four defensive ends and we had seven defensive tackles, right? So if you move me to the tackle, who spells, who gives Josh and Travon a break, you know? So it could have been one of those situations, but I did express it."
Armstead signed a three-year deal worth $43.5 million with the Jags. Unfortunately, they didn't get much bang for their buck, as he finished 2024 with two sacks and 36 total pressures. Earlier this year, though, he announced that he would be once again playing inside next season, which should help him post better numbers.
Arik Armstead is a Jaguars candidate to bounce back in 2025
As Arik Armstead pointed out, there was nobody who could spell Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen last year. That will no longer be an issue after the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Emmanuel Ogbah after the NFL Draft.
Leaving aside that Armstead will switch back to defensive tackle, there are a handful of reasons to think he'll once again play at a high level. For one, he's fully healthy, unlike last year, when he was recovering from a meniscus injury he suffered in 2024. Moreover, Maason Smith showed promise as a rookie, and if he keeps improving, opponents won't be able to double-team Armstead.
Last but not least, there's a new regime in place, and having Anthony Campanile as the defensive coordinator should energize Armstead.
Looking back, 2024 is a season Arik Armstead would like to forget. But based on his conversation with John Oehser, it sure sounds like he isn't dwelling too much on the past and is instead focused on who bright the future looks for the Jaguars.