Last season, Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Austin Jackson had his season cut short due to injuries, as he played just 14 snaps in the season opener against the New England Patriots and 70 in Week 12 against the Houston Texans.
On Tuesday, after Miami’s second organized team activities session, the former first-round pick revealed that he had reconstructive surgery on his right ankle during the offseason. Jackson participated in team drills on Day 2, and the team is hoping that he can stay on the field throughout the work.
“I never really had a season-ending injury before,” Jackson told the media after the session. “So that was tough, but I’m really excited to get back and play now. It’s actually kind of like angry excited.”
Earlier in the offseason, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said that Jackson was expected to start at right tackle in 2023, but since then, they’ve brought in two veterans (Isaiah Wynn and Cedric Ogbuehi) as well as a couple of rookies (Ryan Hayes and James Tunstall) at the position.
“I get to build on my coaching points from last year,” Jackson said. “And that’s the expectation of me as a second-year player in a system is to obviously build off of what I know. So I’m looking forward to doing that.”
The 23-year-old has played three different positions in his three seasons in the NFL, and he hasn’t been particularly great at any of them. However, he’s also had a new offensive line coach every year since being selected back in 2020, including this upcoming year, the first for Butch Barry.
Miami will likely give him a shot to earn the job this offseason, but there should be no guarantees that he’s the starter come Week 1.
