Last offseason, the Miami Dolphins declined to pick up right tackle Austin Jackson’s fifth-year option.
Now, they’ve made sure to lock him in through his seventh year.
The Dolphins signed Jackson to a three-year contract extension, according to a league source Thursday morning. The deal that keeps him in Miami through 2026 is reportedly worth $36 million with a max value of $39 million and $20.7 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network.
Jackson has had a breakout fourth NFL season in 2023, as he has remained healthy at right tackle and consistently protected left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side in the pocket. A pair of ankle injuries in 2022 cost him all but two games in a key third NFL season.
Jackson has quickly shed the bust label that was starting to stick after his first two uneven seasons and then the injury-plagued third year.
“I’m excited. I’m extremely grateful,” Jackson said Thursday. “If you know my journey here, it’s been a lot of, I guess, stuff to remember. It’s been a lot that went on, but I’m just glad that I got a place that allowed me to work on my craft and get better.”
He was drafted in the first round, the No. 18 pick, out of USC in 2020, the same draft when Miami took Tagovailoa with the No. 5 selection. Jackson started off at left tackle, couldn’t solidify his home there, was kicked inside to left guard in 2021 and, as the team added Pro Bowl veteran Terron Armstead to play left tackle ahead of 2022, moved to right tackle.
“It’s great to be picked in the first round as a 20-year-old. Awesome. There’s also a lot of burden with that,” coach Mike McDaniel said.
“Don’t harbor past things against people that have nothing to do with those things. To me, this guy is playing multiple positions and he started doing it before he legally could drink alcohol. That’s a ton of weight, and then you have a lot of people talking. Heavy is the crown, as they say. You just have a lot of people interjecting on what you are. I don’t know about you guys, but were you a finished product at 20 years old? A 20-year-old Coach McDaniel, you should take the reins away from me as the head coach because I’m not ready for that.”
The injuries prevented him from playing at the new position in his first year under McDaniel, but with health in 2023 and consistent play both in run and pass blocking, Jackson earned himself his payday after the Dolphins did not pick up his fifth-year option in the past offseason.
Miami locked in Jackson before he went to free agency this upcoming offseason. It’s a major offseason checklist item addressed for the organization before the end of this season.
When that notion was brought up to McDaniel, he tapped the microphone in front of him and replied an emphatic “yes,” before expanding.
“You’re defining your team real-time by those type of investments,” he said, “and if you want people to come to work every day and decide their own level of happiness because of their accountability to themselves and their teammates and a complete devotion to what their responsibility is, then you should reward that.”
Injury report
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was among eight players on the active roster not seen during a brief media viewing portion of Thursday’s practice ahead of Miami’s Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans, but veteran rest was partially a reason for that.
Hill had vet rest along with his ankle injury he’s playing through listed on the team’s Thursday injury report. The ankle ailment was sustained Nov. 24 against the New York Jets, but he was clear of any game status designation in the leadup to last Sunday’s win over the Washington Commanders. Against Washington, he scored two long touchdowns while finishing with five receptions for 157 yards.
Hill was one of eight Miami players to miss Thursday drills. The others: Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee/ankle), safety Jevon Holland (knees), running back Raheem Mostert (knee/vet rest), linebacker Jerome Baker (knee), right guard Robert Hunt (hamstring, tight end Durham Smythe (ankle) and offensive tackle Kendall Lamm (back/vet rest).
McDaniel said the Dolphins will operate with caution with Hunt this week after he aggravated his ailing hamstring in the win over the Commanders.
Holland is eager to return, McDaniel said, but he’s also being wise about taking care of the injuries to his knees he experienced against the Jets that caused him to miss the Washington game.
“We won’t mortgage the rest of the season,” McDaniel said about the approach with Holland.
Armstead added an ankle injury to his already ailing knee at FedEx Field on Sunday, but the good thing is the quadriceps injury he sustained against the Jets is now off the injury report. McDaniel previously said Armstead would’ve been available to return if the score wasn’t out of hand in the 45-15 victory.
The team is taking it week to week with Baker after the medial collateral ligament injury he suffered at Washington, and he is not expected to play this week, meaning a bigger role for backup Duke Riley.
