Dolphins 90 In 90: Austin Jackson Looking For Healthy Year

The Miami Dolphins have completed their offseason training program, with no football-related activities scheduled until the start of training camp at the end of July. While the players may be on vacation or working out on their own, we continue our 90-in-90 breakdown of the Dolphins’ roster.

Injuries were a large part of the 2025 edition of the Dolphins. All across the roster, the Dolphins saw players miss games, and they scrambled to find replacements. Starting right tackle Austin Jackson missed 11 games during the season, a year after he missed nine contests. Entering his final year of his contract, Jackson is looking to stay healthy and prove he is capable of locking down the right side of Miami’s offensive line for years to come.

Biography

Name: Austin Jackson
Number: 73
Position: Tackle
Height / Weight: 6’5” / 310 pounds
Age (at start of season): 26
Experience: 7th year
College: USC
Draft: 2020 1st round (18th overall) (Miami Dolphins)
Acquired: 2020 1st round draft pick

Contract and 2026 salary cap

Contract: 3-years, $36 million (re-structured in 2026)

2026 salary cap: $6.9 million (final year – 4 void years)

Contract details via OverTheCap.com.

2025 review

Games played: 6 (6 starts)

Jackson’s 2025 campaign was nothing like anyone had hoped. Limited to just six games, Jackson dealt with injuries throughout the year, including a toe injury that led to surgery. He can be a dominating right tackle for the Dolphins, especially as a run blocker, but his 2025 season was a disappointment.

Offseason moves

Tackle signings: Gottlieb Ayedze, Kevin Cline (UDFA), Marques Cox, Charlie Heck

Released: Braeden Daniels, Kadeem Telfort

Drafted: Kadyn Proctor (1st round)

2026 expectations

Jackson is on schedule to be ready for training camp and to resume his spot as the team’s starting right tackle. The selection of Proctor in the first round could be a sign that Jackson has work to do to stay on the roster beyond this year, but the team seems set on starting Proctor as a guard and keeping Jackson at right tackle. Jackson is the longest tenured Dolphins player on offense, and he could be the veteran leader of the offensive line.

“I definitely just try to help out and be a resource,” Jackson said earlier this month when asked about conversations he has had with Poctor. “Any time he has questions or anything I see that I could tell him that would help him in the moment, like a play or something, I’ll tell him. He’s a real smart guy. He’s really on top of what he should fix, so I’m excited to work with him because of that and he’s athletic.”

When asked about sharing his experience of working at multiple positions on the offensive line early in his career and how that can help Proctor’s move to guard and Savaiinaea’s move from the left side of the line to the right, Jackson added, “I know for me at first with the moving positions, I had a lot of turmoil in my head and uncertainty, but after training, that is just going to hinder you. You’ve just got to be confident in whatever you do out there. So I just tell those guys, you’re the same player that you were at that position but you’re at a new position, and you can do the same things still. It’s just a matter of practice, repetition and consistency. Are you going to consistently train yourself? And that’s how anyone gets better.”

As for 2026 and his role with the team moving into 2027 and beyond, everything will revolve around Jackson’s health this season.