Dolphins Placing Rookie Jackson on IR
The Miami Dolphins will have to shuffle their offensive line after putting rookie left tackle Austin Jackson on injured reserve Friday.
To take Jackson's spot on the 53-man roster, the Dolphins promoted running back Salvon Ahmed from the practice squad.
Jackson, the second of three Dolphins first-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft, started the first four games but sustained a foot injury in the 31-23 loss against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.
Under the new injured reserve rules, Jackson could be back after missing three games, but head coach Brian Flores did not have a timetable on his return.
“This is a tough kid, a hard-working kid," Flores said. "I don’t like putting timetables on injuries. Obviously you guys know with IR rules changing this year we can bring a player back as early as three weeks. Again, I don’t want to put a timetable on this one. So we’ll see."
Flores said he had not made a decision on what the Dolphins offensive line will look like against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Julién Davenport, who acquired last September as part of the trade that sent Laremy Tunsil to Houston, replaced Jackson in the lineup in the second half of the Seattle game.
The other options for the Dolphins include rookie second-round pick Robert Hunt, third-year player Adam Pankey and moving right tackle Jesse Davis to left tackle. Davis started at left tackle for the first three games of the 2019 season before moving to the right side, where he has appeared more comfortable.
If the Dolphins do decide to move Davis from right to left tackle, Hunt or Pankey would be the logical options to start at right tackle.
The other offensive lineman on the roster is second-year player Michael Deiter, who started 15 games at guard in 2019 but now is listed as the backup center.
"We practiced a few different combinations through the week," Flores said. "I have to watch today’s practice film before I make that determination. Julien played well last week. He’s certainly in the mix.
"I would say you’re looking for a long-term replacement. But then those conversations go to what if so and so goes down. What are we doing then? We tried to work a few different combinations with that in mind this week. We’re confident in Julien. We’re confident in Jesse Davis. We’re confident in Rob Hunt. We’re confident in Deiter and really everybody in the O-line room, Pankey as well. We worked a number of combinations this week. We’ll put out the group that we feel is our best five offensive linemen."
Hunt, the 39th overall selection in the 2020 draft, has played nine snaps in the first four games as an extra tight end in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Pankey, who joined the Dolphins off waivers from the Green Bay Packers last December, was inactive for each of the team's first four games this season.
