Dolphins Release Worst Possible Update On Star RB De’Von Achane
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
De’Von Achane didn’t make it through the first quarter Sunday. Miami’s opening drive against Kansas City ended with him on the turf, clutching his left knee.
He walked off slowly under his own power. He never came back.
That alone would’ve been the story for most of the day. The Dolphins lost 24-10, and CBS Sports reported the injury came on a non-contact play, with his leg giving out as he tried to cut. Achane finished with fewer than five snaps.
Reporters caught up with head coach Jeff Hafley’s read on the injury after the game. The mood had already shifted from concern to dread. “It does not sound very optimistic,” Hafley told reporters, according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. He added that the team was still gathering information.
Sources Say The Damage Includes A Torn ACL
NFL insider Ian Rapoport has since reported something worse, citing sources, as he noted that Achane suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season.
Not everyone reading the film agrees on what actually happened. A sports doctor who broke down the play frame by frame flagged something different. He wasn’t seeing the kind of tibial shift usually associated with a torn ACL.
Instead, he pointed to the twisting motion with Achane’s foot planted, which reads more like a meniscus concern to him.
It does appear that he was wrong, given today’s news.
The Timing Couldn’t Be Much Worse For Miami
Achane has been the engine of the Dolphins offense since his rookie year. Miami built its whole approach around getting him space to work.
Losing him for any real stretch reshapes what the Dolphins can even run each week. There’s no obvious replacement waiting in the wings, either.
Achane hadn’t found the end zone yet through his first two games, but he was still Miami’s clearest source of explosive plays. That threat disappears the moment he’s out of the lineup, and Miami’s offensive staff will have to adjust fast.
The Dolphins dropped to 0-3 with Sunday’s loss, still searching for their first win this season. Every game from here matters more without their most explosive weapon on the field.
Miami has a short week before its next game. There’s no indication Achane will play in it, and the Dolphins will need to figure out life without him, possibly for a while.
