Morstead speaks on Miami Dolphins, expectations, & butt punt

Thomas Morstead – Terron Armstead, the gym grind, & longevity:

Vasquez: Have you worn the “T. Stead” chain yet?

"Morstead: We once had a medical confusion probably like a decade ago where we were both getting treated in the hospital for two different injuries, the nurses that had our charts just saw T. with something ‘-stead’ and T. with something ‘-stead’, Morstead and Armstead, obviously they didn’t know what we look like and got us confused. And that’s kind of when we started calling each other the “real T. Stead.”"

Vasquez: How have you been able to keep your leg firing like this for 14 seasons straight?

"Morstead: Just one day at a time, I know that’s kind of a lame answer but I’ve just been investing in myself physically. Got to college at 18 years old, I was a walk-on and discovered the weight room, and how the gym can be used for getting stronger and keeping your body right. It’s just been a constant grind of trying to get to the next level, trying to better myself, and I truly love doing all the aspects of training and recovery. It’s why I’m still playing for sure, I’m sitting in a recliner now with recovery boots on trying to get my legs back. It’s just part of the deal that I love."

We all know punters are usually seen as the least athletic position on the field, so to have a punter that is heavy into lifting and being an absolute unit is refreshing.

Vasquez: What has kept you motivated to stay grinding and stay consistent to extend the longevity of your career?

"Morstead: I don’t like the word motivation, I think motivation is overrated. I think it’s more about being disciplined, and being able to look yourself in the mirror. Everyone has days where they don’t feel like training or days where they don’t feel like doing X, Y, or Z at their job, and if you let the way you feel dictate the way that you work then you probably won’t be very good… …It’s what’s required for me to be the best. If I don’t do every single thing that I can do in preparation weekly or yearly with the way I train. Then when you get in those big moments, the wind’s in your face, you’re in the back of the endzone, and the game’s on the line… you can’t possibly be as confident because you know you took the shortcut. So I would say that’s a tremendous mental edge for me in my career because as a general rule I just don’t take the shortcut. …If you’re always consistent and you keep the promises you made to yourself and do that daily over years, and decades, it leads to results that you might not have even foreseen. I’m a case study of that for sure, so yeah, it’s just about being consistent, being honest with yourself, being able to look in the mirror, being able to look your teammates in the mirror, and doing everything you can to be ready."