There’s a blueprint for the Dolphins to follow if they’re serious about revising one of their costly contracts in 2026
There’s a recent precedent here.
The Miami Dolphins‘ roster upheaval does appear to have some limits.
The Dolphins have already shipped out Tyreek Hill and James Daniels. They’re fielding trade offers on Minkah Fitzpatrick. And Bradley Chubb has been told his tenure is over, too — his release is simply a formality. Amid all of that change, there are several other candidates who make a lot of sense as potential pivots, too. One such player is right tackle Austin Jackson, who is in a contract year in 2026, owed $11.5 million for the upcoming season, and has missed half (or more) of each of the last two seasons. But Jackson isn’t a sure thing to get bounced. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan offered an update on the tackle’s status on Tuesday which suggested Jackson could stay this year — but with a major stipulation.
Jon-Eric Sullivan would like Austin Jackson to return in 2026 — with a catch
“Things have to work themselves out. I would like him to be here,” Sullivan was quoted as saying when discussing Jackson’s status with the team this offseason.
Things working themselves out, if you’re willing to read in-between the lines, would seem to suggest that something needs to change in order for Jackson to remain with the franchise. If Sullivan would like him to be here, he’s under contract as things currently stand — and so it seems to set the stage for Jackson and the Dolphins to revisit his contract situation. And given that Jackson is the 11th highest-paid right tackle in football this upcoming season, Miami would be right to take exception.
Jackson has played 819 total snaps over the last two seasons combined, which were the first two years of the three-year, $36 million extension he signed with the Dolphins in 2023. It’s a troublesome number. But if the Dolphins consider themselves too thin on resources and consider Jackson’s caliber of play, I’d also understand wanting to keep him around as they set about a roster rebuild if the dollars were different. You just simply can’t count on him to be all-in as a highly paid starter at this stage. The injuries have been too much and too often.
The good news for Miami is there’s a precedent for this kind of thing that happened just one year ago. The Indianapolis Colts were paying their own right tackle, Braden Smith, handsomely as part of a four-year, $70 million contract extension. He’d missed 18 games in four seasons while playing on that deal before the Colts approached him about a contract renegotiation going into a contract year in 2025.
The Colts were scheduled to pay Smith $14.75 million in 2025 but slashed that number down to $3.96 million last season, plus a $2 million roster bonus and additional $2.04 million in play-time incentives — giving him a total earnings potential for the season of $8 million.
Miami, if they’re serious about slashing payroll from Jackson, could use this blueprint as precedent for discussions with Jackson and his team and let them decide if risking hitting the open market is worth the upside. Jackson’s missed 20 games in two seasons. With no guaranteed money left on his salary, it is totally valid to wonder what kind of market he could warrant; and a middle ground renegotiation that ties some of Jackson’s earnings directly into how often he plays feels like it could help everyone in 2026. The blueprint is there, thanks to the Colts and Braden Smith in 2025.