‘As good as he’s ever looked.’ Austin Jackson’s return could be key to offensive line’s success
Austin Jackson had a rather tough 2024.
Not only did season-ending knee surgery force the Miami Dolphins starting right tackle to miss nine games, the team finished below .500 and didn’t make the playoffs. This also happened to be the third time he has missed several games after various ankle injuries limited him to just two games in 2022 and a foot ailment sidelined him for three more in 2020.
“It was tough,” Jackson said Tuesday of his midseason exit in 2024. The injury, in fact, “forced me to look inward” in order to “find confidence in training” versus actually playing and getting praise.
The good news is that Jackson appears fully healthy, a great sign as he has now stepped into the leadership role within the offensive line room following Terron Armstead’s retirement. His health will be paramount in 2025 as the Dolphins try to recapture some of their 2023 glory.
“Austin Jackson is playing out on the field, moving as good as he’s ever looked,” coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday, praising his “work ethic.”
Jackson’s importance to the Dolphins – particularly in the run game – cannot be overstated. Through the first eight games of the 2024 season, the Dolphins averaged roughly 134 yards on the ground. After Jackson’s injury, Miami plummeted to about 80 rushing yards per game over the final nine weeks of the season.
“Austin was a huge loss,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Jan. 7. “Through Week 9 or 10 we were still up there, running the ball, moving, playing well and it was a huge loss for us. And then once he went down, it was like a slow bleed out the rest of the year.”
With the injury now behind him, Jackson’s biggest hurdle will be how to lead the offensive line. The 2020 first-round pick might not be the elder statesmen in the room — that title belongs to eight-year veteran guard James Daniels — but he’s certainly the longest-tenured Dolphin in his position group. It’s certainly a new role task but one that Jackson appears to have embraced.
“With the younger guys coming in and me myself having more confidence in the system, I definitely can help anybody who is looking to do what we do the right way,” Jackson said, adding that “usually, people will go to Armstead for stuff, to ask questions. Now they’re coming to ask me. It’s cool. I appreciate it. I make sure I’m at my best when giving advice. But I’m also making sure I’m leading by example. I don’t ever want to say one thing and do the other.”
Patrick Paul, the second-year tackle who’s expected to succeed Armstead, called Jackson “the standard-setter.”
“He’s here every day,” Paul said Wednesday. “He works. He leads by example every single day and he’s the standard-setter. Ever since I’ve arrived here, I’ve seen that. I’ve seen him day in and day out come in and compete and do his job at the highest level.”
Jackson’s return should provide a bit of stability to an offensive line that will likely have three new starters in Paul, Daniels and 2025 second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea. Although Daniels has yet to take the field as he recovers from a torn Achilles, Jackson praised the veteran’s voice specifically in meeting rooms as the two look to build chemistry. That connectivity along the offensive line, as center Aaron Brewer said, will ultimately determine the Dolphins’ success in 2025.
“It could be difficult, but I’d say it’s all about ‘want to’ from the people who are here or the new additions we got,” Brewer said May 7 when asked about building chemistry. “It all comes down to how bad you want it and how bad you want to make it happen.”
Added Brewer: “That’s what we need to be successful — that brotherhood, that community, we have to be there together.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM.
