The Miami Dolphins have been one of the best teams in the NFL this season, entering Week 14 with a 9-3 record as they get ready to face the Tennessee Titans. While the coaching staff and players were busy preparing for that game, the front office was hammering out a deal with one of their key contributors this season.
Offensive lineman Austin Jackson became a very rich man on Thursday. It was announced that he and the Dolphins agreed to a new contract extension, a three-year deal worth $36 million with $20.7 million guaranteed.
This is a huge turn of events for Jackson, who was originally selected No. 18 overall by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Injuries and ineffectiveness marred the first three seasons of his career, which led to Miami declining the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.
That meant Jackson was heading toward free agency in 2024 before agreeing to the extension this morning. However, once Mike McDaniel took over as head coach in 2022, things began to change for the former USC product.
Jackson began showing some promise in the first training camp under McDaniel, as the team opted to move him to right tackle. In the Dolphins’ offense, that is an integral position as it is the blindside for left-handed starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
He was able to build upon that strong first impression in 2022 with another strong training camp in 2023. Fully healthy for the first time in his career, Jackson turned his dominant performance on the field this season into a nice long-term contract extension.
In 740 snaps on the blindside, Jackson has allowed only two sacks this season, part of a unit that has allowed the third-fewest in the NFL. His overall grade of 67.3 over at PFF is No. 36 out of 83 qualified offensive tackles. That gives the Dolphins one of the best tackle combos in the NFL along with left tackle Terron Armstead, who has earned a grade of 75.7, which is 17th.
More must-reads: