All that talk last week about the Miami Dolphins having fixed their offensive line?
It now needs revision.
The Dolphins were banged up and leaky in the trenches in Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Rams. And with Austin Jackson now out for the season, it doesn’t seem likely to dramatically improve any time soon.
Miami Dolphins’ Austin Jackson Done for Season
The Dolphins had hoped Jackson’s absence from a knee injury would be brief. Their hope was in vain. They ultimately decided to place him on injured reserve this week as further examination revealed he would need surgery that will end his season.
McDaniel discussed the decision during his Tuesday afternoon news conference.
“We got a bunch of different opinions and I don’t think he’ll be back this year,” McDaniel said.
The team doesn’t seem concerned about Jackson’s availability for the start of the 2025 season, but given there are less than eight weeks left of the regular season, getting him back for 2024 seems too tall a climb.
The Dolphins were down two starters on their offensive line late in Monday night’s game — and looked like it. Left guard Rob Jones suffered a knee injury of his own in the second quarter. While the team listed him as questionable to return, he never did.
McDaniel didn’t have enough information Tuesday to give much insight into Jones’ injury. But he also didn’t rule out Isaiah Wynn — who hasn’t played in 13 months due to a quadriceps injury — returning to practice this week.
A healthy and sharp Wynn — who has made great strides in his rehab in recent weeks –would certainly be an improvement over Lester Cotton, who finished out the game Sunday.
But right tackle is a trickier situation. Kendall Lamm will likely be the team’s right tackle to finish the season but don’t completely rule out seeing rookie Patrick Paul at some point.
Paul is a natural left tackle, but if the Dolphins need him, they’re not ruling out using him on the right side.
“Something that is important in your tackles that aren’t starting is their versatility, and that’s something as a rookie that you try to walk before you run,” McDaniel said of Paul last week. “You try to speak one language before you speak two, so you start out as one position for the sake of trying to master the nuances and then you grow.
“We’ve had the opportunity to get him comfortable at left tackle and so he’s been able to work at right throughout the year and that’s something we’ll continue to work on. He’s definitely capable and able to play on the right side as well, at any time.”