Dolphins OT Kendall Lamm Prefers To Be Doubted

Lamm played admirably against Chargers

Lamm started his 30th NFL game because of the ankle, knee and back injuries that sidelined Armstead, Miami’s Pro Bowl offensive lineman and a team captain, and  Lamm helped keep Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, one of the NFL's best pass-rushing duos, without a sack.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was only hit twice, and both of those encounters were associated with misplaced or mismanaged snaps.

While the Dolphins run game wasn't as reliable as the team hoped - accounting for 70 yards on 20 attempts - the overall performance of Miami's offensive line was something the team could build on.

And its likely that Lamm will be called on to start the road game against the New England Patriots on Sunday night because Armstead hasn't participated in a full practice since last September, and might need a week or two to get himself in football shape once the ankle he injured a month ago in Miami's joint practices against Houston heals enough for him to participate in team periods.

The battle against Patriots pass rusher Matt Judon, who delivered 15.5 sacks last season and recorded one last week in New England's loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, could provide Lamm an opportunity to prove he's more than an NFL journeyman.

The Dolphins trusted Lamm enough to re-sign the 31-year-old early in free agency, guaranteeing $100,000 of his $1.2 million salary this spring. Miami only signing of veteran Cedric Ogbuehi and the selection of selection of Ryan Hayes in the seventh round were the other key moves Miami made to bolster the offensive line this offseason, and Lamm stiff-armed the competition from training camp's first practice.

He quickly locked down the top backup tackle spot, and spent most of this summer as one of training camp’s top performers.

“He uses every slight that’s happened to him to his advantage, not disadvantage,” head coach Mike McDaniel said of Lamm, who McDaniel claims has become a core leader in the Dolphins’ locker room.

McDaniel praises Lamm for camp performance

“My confidence [level in him] is high, just because I see better than I hear and he’s shown me [he’s] as consistent, really, as anybody of what I can expect, what his teammates can expect from him, and that’s a guy that there’s nothing more important to him than what he needs to deliver on for himself and his teammates,” McDaniel continued. “Any time he’s on the field, I get excited for him because he’s been down the rigors of the NFL journey for a player that’s not a lottery pick, so to speak, and he’s coming out a better version than he went in.”

Even though Lamm will be facing a top pass rusher in the NFL every week, he's not phased by the challenge of replacing Armstead. 

"One of my first starts in the NFL was Monday Night Football against DeMarcus Lawrence back when I was in Houston,” Lamm said, referring to the Cowboys' top pass rusher, a three-time Pro Bowl selection. “Anytime you’re going to work on the edge you’re going against a top-tier guy, no matter what.”

And Lamm expects to do his part to silence all the doubters.