Brian Flores offers timetable for Dolphins rookie Austin Jackson’s return

Published by

Brad Sullivan

6 years ago

On Monday, Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores indicated that rookie offensive tackle Austin Jackson will be returning at some point during the 2020 season.

Last Friday, Jackson was placed on the Dolphins’ injured reserve list after sustaining a foot injury in the Oct. 4 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

In announcing that roster move last week, Flores indicated that Jackson would be out for an extended period, but gave no timetable at the time.

The second of three first-round choices by the Dolphins in April’s NFL draft, Jackson was the 18th overall selection out of the University of Southern California.

Jackson had impressed the Dolphins’ coaching staff during training camp and moved into the starting lineup, protecting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s blindside.

One of the reasons that Jackson was chosen by the Dolphins was an attempt to short up the team’s porous pass protection, which had allowed 58 sacks last season.

In the first four games of 2020, when Jackson was the starting left offensive tackle, the Dolphins had only allowed six sacks. However, against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Dolphins gave up two sacks during their 43-17 victory.

On Sunday, the Dolphins will host the winless New York Jets, with former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase likely on shaky ground after two NFL head coaches were fired over the weekend.

Brad Sullivan

Brad is a freelance writer for Dolphinnation.com and has been around long enough to remember the 1972 perfect season, and even when Don Shula was coaching the Colts. He still follows the Dolphins and other happenings in the NFL, so he can offer a little perspective when it comes to the ups and downs of each season. Some of his opinions may end up differing from the people who read them, but that's par for the course when it comes to life in South Florida.