LG Larsen returns with 'solid game
Pushed from starting spot, veteran lineman made most of chance.
Ted
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Larsen has played nearly a decade’s worth of games in the NFL, been on two playoff teams and gotten within a game of the Super Bowl, so he has a high threshold for what qualifies as a memorable day. Plus, he’s not exactly known for being sentimental.
But this one meant something. After the Dolphins demoted him in a way he believedto be unfair and he was left questioning just a week ago whether he’d even see the field this season, Lars-
en’s return at left guard in Sunday’s 20-12 victory over the Jets was a personal triumph.
“I didn’t know if I was gonna play at all, and that was tough for me,” he said. “To get that opportunity to come in and start (Sunday) was good, and especially with the amount of talent that’s on this team, it’s fun to play.” Larsen took over for four-time
Pro Bowler Josh Sitton, the team’s high-priced free-agent pickup who went on injured reserve because of a torn rotator cuff suffered in
the seasonopener. The offensive line played well against New York,
giving Ryan Tannehill reasonable time in the pocket and helping the Dolphins average 4.4 yards per rush.
It was a significant performance after losing the centerpiece of the line’s offseason rebuild.
Sitton was said to be the reason this group could withstand the departure of Mike Pouncey, and the Dolphins believed he’d make left tackle Laremy Tunsil better. For Larsen to step in and play a game that he thought “felt solid” was an important step for the unit.
“It felt like it was enough to get the win,” he said of his individual play.
There was more going through his mind than that quick assessment, though. He went through a lot to get to this point.
Larsen came to the Dol- phins as a free agent last year with both sides think- ing he’d be a fixture at guard, but his run with the team was derailed in the presea- son by a torn tendon in his right biceps.
He worked tirelessly to get back for the second half of the season, only to come back this spring and be told the team was moving forward with Sitton at left guard and Jesse Davis at right guard, stripping Larsen of his starting spot. He was asked to train as a backup at both guard positions and center.
Miami coach Adam Gase said he spoke with Larsen before the start of organized team activities in May and informed him that Davis was getting the job. Gase prior- itized continuity, sticking with the intended starting five throughout the offseason and preseason, and he praised Larsen for taking it like a professional and con- tinuing to work.
Gase described it Fri- day as “a good conversation” and acknowledged it wasn’t the sort of thing any player would want to hear. It didn’t bother him that Larsen wasn’t thrilled about the plan.
“He wanted to compete for the spot and that’s fair,” Gase said. “I understand that, especially going into your ninth season.”
He added, “Ted’s a pro. Not everybody is going to throw a temper tantrum. A lot of guys understand what this business is and if they go about it right, things work out.”
Whatever was said in their initial meeting, Larsen didn’t interpret it as a final deci- sion. He understood that Davis would start out ahead of him and “get every bene- fit of the doubt,” but he kept thinking he had a chance to win the spot back.
“I was never OK with it,” Larsen said. “Even going into preseason Game 2 or 3, I was under the belief that there was some sort of competition. Whether that was to appease me or whatever, it’s in the past.
“I just kept playing hard and working hard at multi- ple positions . ... I was never OK with it, and if you ask any of the coaches, they would know that I wasn’t super OK with it. But what can I do really but go and practice hard and play hard?”
He could’ve asked Miami to trade or release him in the offseason, but said the situation “wasn’t made that black and white from the onset,” and what he really wanted was to earn back the role he signed on to play in the first place.
When it eventually became clear to Larsen that he wasn’t going to start over Davis no matter what he did on the practice field, he remained driven to prove himself.
“I was just gonna play hard and do my job and come in every day and work hard,” Larsen said. “If that made a difference, it made a difference . ... It shook out in a manner that was positive for me. Unfortunately Josh got hurt, and that’s not what you want at all. But it worked out for me that I stuck here.
“Good things usually come when you work hard and keep your mouth shut. That’s really all I could do. There’s not much I could handle about who they wanted to go with, but in the end it all kinda sorts out. Now I’m playing, and I hope I play well the rest of the year.”