Miami Dolphins rookie running back De’Von Achane hasn’t played for the team in over a month. He suffered a knee injury in a game against the New York Giants on Oct. 8 and has been sidelined ever since.
But Achane seems to be progressing toward returning to the field in the near future. On Monday, the Dolphins designated him to return from injured reserve.
Miami allegedly believes that it could have Achane back for the final eight games of the 2023 regular season.
“It also sounds like the Dolphins are expecting to have running back De’Von Achane back this week, the first week he is eligible to come off injured reserve,” Dan Graziano wrote. “He probably didn’t need the full four weeks, as it turns out, to heal from his knee injury, but the Dolphins were intentionally careful with their lightning-quick rookie. They now believe they could have him back for the final eight games, starting Sunday against Antonio Pierce’s red-hot [Las Vegas] Raiders.”
The Dolphins have the top record in the AFC East at 6-3 but have struggled to string together wins — like they did earlier on in the season — without one of their better running backs in the lineup for the last month-plus. Since Achane went down with his knee injury, the Dolphins have gone 2-2.
Their two wins came against some of the worst teams in the league right now. First, the Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers at home on Oct. 15. Then, they beat the New England Patriots at home on Oct. 29.
The Panthers were winless on the season when they played the Dolphins and currently own a poor 1-8 record. Carolina earned its first win of the season against the Houston Texans on Oct. 29.
The Patriots, meanwhile, own a 2-8 record and have a struggling starting quarterback in Mac Jones. In 10 starts with New England so far this season, he has thrown as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns.
Miami’s two losses in Achane’s absence have come against elite competition. The Dolphins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles by 14 points on Oct. 22 and Kansas City Chiefs by seven points on Nov. 5.
Achane’s return to the field would provide a huge boost to the Dolphins’ offensive attack. After all, he’s put up great numbers across his four appearances with the team so far this season. The running back has racked up five rushing touchdowns along with 460 rushing yards.
Here’s to hoping that the Dolphins’ belief that Achane could be back for the final eight games of the season becomes a reality.
