Austin Jackson's future with the Miami Dolphins should be in doubt after this nightmare start to the season continues to play out.
Jackson has played just one full season in his previous five seasons with the Dolphins. He will not make it two in 2025. Jackson has been dealing with a toe injury, but now, he is heading back to the comfort of stationary bikes and rehab.
On Saturday, Miami announced that Jackson will be placed on injured reserve. The corresponding move is a bit surprising.
Miami Dolphins place Austin Jackson on injured reserve
Dolphins fans knew this was coming. Jackson missed almost all of last season and has been a regularly scheduled name on the injury report when he is healthy. Fans know that it's not a matter of "if" he will be put on IR, but "when."
This time, they didn't have to wait but one game. Jackson was considered a reach when he was drafted 13 picks after Tua Tagovailoa. Earlier this offseason, Miami general manager Chris Grier told the media that Jackson was the leader that the other offensive linemen looked to.
Jackson got a new contract during the 2023 season. In 2026, his cap hit will be $15.7 million. Releasing him before June 1st will carry $13.7 million in dead cap space. The Dolphins have one of the highest amounts of dead space currently. After June 1st, a release would cost Miami $4.2 million while saving them just over $11 million.
The Dolphins may love Jackson, but if he can't stay healthy, it doesn't matter what kind of leader he is. Miami needs capable and reliable offensive linemen, and Jackson isn't giving the Dolphins what they need.
What makes this news worse is that now fans get to see Larry Borom start in his place. Throughout camp, Borom showed he wasn't capable of being relied on. Hopefully, he figures it out because this weekend the New England Patriots should be testing his ability to set Tagovailoa's blindside edge.
With Jackson on IR, the Dolphins opted to bring Armstrong onto the 53. Miami took a hit last week when the team lost Storm Duck for a couple of weeks. The move isn't unexpected, but given the lack of depth at other positions, it is no surprise.
The Dolphins' offensive line is not looking good. They placed James Daniels on IR earlier in the week. Now, after just one game, both of their right side starters are on IR.
Miami also announced that they have elevated Riley Patterson and Jeff Wilson to the 53 for Sunday's game. This is the second week in a row that both were brought up as expected.