The Miami Dolphins are currently evaluating a knee injury sustained by star rookie running back De’Von Achane following Sunday’s 31-16 victory over the New York Giants.
Head coach Mike McDaniel spoke with the media on Monday, stating that Achane’s injury is being looked at and that it would be “trivial” to put a timetable for return together. No word on the severity of the injury has been reported either.
De’Von Achane is dealing with a knee injury. Mike McDaniel said a decision has not been made on Jeff Wilson yet. pic.twitter.com/3Sl4GtNXck
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 9, 2023
Achane Uncertain for Dolphins game against Panthers
Coach was asked if Achane could miss Sunday’s game, and he was reluctant to give an answer on that. McDaniel said that he’s “not really thinking anything as of now. He’s still in the process of getting evaluated and it is to be determined.”
McDaniel also said he didn’t know how Achane was injured in the game, and apparently tried to play through it. Looking through videos of his last carry of the game shows his right leg getting twisted up and the running back grimaced before jogging off the field.
He left for a brief moment, but was back on the field for the Dolphins’ final third-down play; An 8-yard completion to Raheem Mostert on third-and-6 to allow Miami to kneel and let the clock run.
The speedy, explosive running back had himself a field day in the Dolphins’ win over the Giants where he totaled 11 carries for 151 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Achane now sits at 460 yards in only three games, the second highest behind Christian McCaffrey’s 510.
Additionally, Achane became the first player to score seven touchdowns in his first four career games in the Super Bowl era, per NFL Research.
McDaniel stated that he needed more information to truly make a decision on if Achane’s injury will have him sitting out just for Sunday’s game or possibly the rest of the season.
“It’s just something that we’re treating that we’ll get more information on,” said McDaniel. “But he was in the game, standard rotation at the end of it like normal. Then he thought he might have something, but he’s such a tough kid it was kind of tough to read. So we need to evaluate more and that’s what we’re doing today.”
Achane has earned a lot of respect for the way he plays the game, especially from his Dolphins teammates.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy, and I think a lot of guys around the league have a lot of respect for him as well,” Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa said. “The cool thing about it is like he doesn’t take heed to listening to any of that. Just a humble guy. Just coming into work, doing what he needs to help the team win.”
In the event that Achane is unable to play, all pressure and workload will fall on Mostert, NFL’s co-leader in rushing touchdowns. Word has also been flying around about this potentially accelerating the return of Jeff Wilson Jr., who’s been on injured reserve for the last four games with multitude of injuries. McDaniel told media that the team is still evaluating whether or not to activate Wilson’s 21-day practice window.