Important Last Month For Austin Jackson

Important Last Month For Austin Jackson

The Miami Dolphins are off this week, and they get a chance to get some rest from the grind of the season to recharge for the final six games of the season. Head coach Mike McDaniel said that some players are going to be ready to come off the injured reserve and back to the active roster. The one player that the team needs to see is Right Tackle Austin Jackson. 

I feel the last six games of the season are a pivotal time for Jackson. He got a contract extension before the end of the 2023 season after looking like a bust his first 3 seasons in the NFL after being selected in the 1st round in the 2020 draft. However, Jackson had found his niche at right tackle and looked capable and competent after starting his career at left tackle and later left guard. Jackson’s athleticism was a fit for McDaniel’s zone blocking scheme, and after an injury in 2022, he came back and played most of the 2023 season, and was rewarded with a new deal. 

Since the contract extension, Jackson has missed more than half of the games over the last season and a half. He missed the final eight games last year because of a knee injury, and this year suffered a toe injury in training camp but came back in the opener only to reaggravate the toe and has missed the season since, and now will most likely come back after the bye week. 

His replacement, Larry Borom, has been decent. Not spectacular, but not bad either, after a rough training camp when most fans and media watched him get beaten continuously in the preseason and had us all worried about the depth of the offensive line if Jackson went down. Jackson did go down, and his replacement answered the call and did decently. He’s not a long-term starter, just a backup, and he’s not under contract for next year. 

The offensive line play fell off last year without Jackson, and there was hope it would do better with him back, but he got hurt, and the line hasn’t been terrible, more average at best, I would say. The Dolphins are facing uncertainty as the season winds down, and they are looking for a new GM and possibly a new head coach, if Stephen Ross decides to fire McDaniel. The Dolphins are also primed for another rebuild and are projected to be $11 million over next year’s cap, which isn’t bad, but not ideal.