The Miami Dolphins have ruled star left tackle Terron Armstead out for Sunday's season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, per NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. This is bad news for injury-prone Tua Tagovailoa against the Chargers' formidable pass rush, led by Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.

Armstead has been out for three weeks with a lower leg injury suffered in practice. The 32-year-old is a 4x Pro Bowler and entering his second season of a 5-year, $75 million contract with the Dolphins. Armstead had the 11th-highest pass block grade among tackles in 2022, per PFF.

The Dolphins were 8-4 when Armstead played more than eight snaps last season. They were 1-3 when he was inactive and lost in Week 5, when Armstead exited the game in the first quarter. He's an extremely important part of this offense.

Tua Tagovailoa is a smaller quarterback, who isn't extremely mobile. He needs a very clean pocket to be an effective passer, even with the weapons he has. He also has a shaky injury history, so the Dolphins really don't want him getting hit.

The Chargers' defense is going to pose significant problems for the Dolphins without Terron Armstead. Joey Bosa is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and Khalil Mack is still a force. They also drafted Tuli Tuipulotu out of USC, who led college football in sacks in 2022.

With JC Jackson returning to the Chargers' secondary, this won't be an easy team to throw the ball against. Kendall Lamm will start Sunday in Armstead's place.