I will be the sole naysayer on this one. I am not holding my breath. Not a fan of the "look at me" Ray Ray Armstrong. Too undisciplined to be counted on.
Considering the Base 4-3 is on the field less than 40% of the time, if we are really talking about "splitting" reps with Dunbar, exactly what does that mean in actual snap count?
Unless Armstrong brings more to the table than Joyner in the Nickel Blitz packages, IMO, he sees 3-4 snaps tops a game on defense.
Can't say I completely disagree because I don't.
The undisciplined traits he carried in the special teams last season were indeed noticeable and unacceptable. However, I believe they were obviously unforced errors that were driven by aggression. He has to learn to keep that in check. If he does in fact receive more playing time, he will have to have earned the trust of the coaching staff that he can maintain the "go get em'" attitude while not committing stupid penalties.
Like you, I too see minimal reps on defense per game. Our Nickel formation will probably be relied heavily upon which I believe Armstrong won't be apart of. But, if he does even see the field 4-6 plays a game, that would be an "expanded" role.
He still has improvements to make to be more of a contributor on Defense, and it starts with the mental errors.