The biggest question hanging over the Miami Dolphins’ backfield got answered before the first practice of training camp even began. Head coach Jeff Hafley told reporters Tuesday that running back De’Von Achane has been fully cleared following offseason shoulder surgery, removing the last lingering doubt about the availability of the offense’s centerpiece.
Dolphins RB De'Von Achane is ready to go after offseason shoulder surgery, per Jeff Hafley
He didn't participate in team drills this spring as he rehabbed, but he's good to go now that training camp's here
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) July 28, 2026
Achane sat out team drills throughout the spring while rehabbing his left shoulder, an injury that cost him the 2025 season finale and quietly loomed over an offseason in which nearly everything else about this roster changed. With veterans reporting Tuesday and the first practice set for Wednesday at the Baptist Health Training Complex, the new regime opens camp with its best player at full speed.
What Jeff Hafley Said About De’Von Achane
Achane is reportedly “ready to go” after the shoulder procedure and enters camp without restrictions. The 24-year-old back had participated in the offseason program only on a limited, non-contact basis while working his way through rehab.
The timing matters. A soft-tissue setback or a slow ramp-up would have invited exactly the kind of questions a first-year staff wants to avoid, especially with an offense that leans on one player more than almost any unit in the league leans on a non-quarterback. Instead, Hafley got to open his first camp as an NFL head coach by delivering good news, and he has made no secret of what he thinks of the player it concerns.
“He’s dynamic,” Hafley said of Achane in the team’s official training camp preview. “I mean there’s plays that you’re not even blocked right for and he gets six or seven yards. His vision, his acceleration, the way he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s so hard to defend.”
Why Achane’s Health Matters More Than Ever
Achane’s 2025 season was the best by a Dolphins running back in more than two decades. He piled up 1,838 yards from scrimmage on 305 touches, a total that ranks second in franchise single-season history behind only Ricky Williams, and he finished with 238 carries for 1,350 rushing yards while adding 488 more as a receiver.
The shoulder injury that ended his year in Week 18 was the only thing that kept him from a run at Williams’ record. The organization responded by paying him.
Achane signed a four-year, $64 million extension in May, ending months of trade speculation and joining center Aaron Brewer and linebacker Jordyn Brooks — who inked his own three-year, $51.3 million extension last week — as the three players general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has treated as the foundation of the rebuild.
That word, rebuild, is doing heavy lifting around this team, and it explains why Tuesday’s news resonates beyond one position group. National previews keep circling the same concern about this offense: outside of Achane, quarterback Malik Willis has no proven weapons, with no returning Dolphins receiver having ever posted a 700-yard season.
Whatever this offense becomes under the new staff, it starts with No. 28 being on the field. There is also a scheme question fans have been chewing on all offseason — whether Achane’s production was a product of Mike McDaniel’s system.
The counterargument from those who cover the team daily is that his vision and acceleration translate to any run scheme, even if the designed perimeter touches in the passing game may look different. Camp is where that debate starts getting settled, and it can only get settled with Achane practicing.
Austin Jackson Returns, but the Injury News Wasn’t All Good
Achane wasn’t the only significant name cleared Tuesday. Hafley announced that offensive tackle Austin Jackson is fully cleared to practice, after a foot injury suffered in the 2025 season opener required surgery and limited him through the spring. Getting Jackson back stabilizes an offensive line that will be protecting a new starting quarterback.
Hafley said Dolphins WR Chris Bell "is in a good spot" despite being placed on the PUP/NFI list, didn't have a timetable for his full clearance
CBs Storm Duck and Darrell Baker's returns are looking more like midseason
OT Austin Jackson is fully cleared to practice
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) July 28, 2026
The rest of the injury report was more sobering. Hafley said wide receiver Chris Bell “is in a good spot” despite opening camp on the non-football injury list, though the coach offered no timetable for the rookie’s full clearance. And cornerbacks Storm Duck and Darrell Baker Jr., both placed on the physically unable to perform list this week, are now trending toward returns closer to midseason — a longer horizon than initially hoped for a secondary already short on established depth.
A Clean Start to Jeff Hafley’s First Camp
Beyond the injury ledger, the first day of Hafley’s first camp went about as smoothly as a new head coach could script. “I’ve got good news for you — everyone passed the conditioning test,” Hafley told reporters, before framing what the next month means to him.
Jeff Hafley: “I’ve got good news for you — everyone passed the conditioning test.” pic.twitter.com/jz12IvVfMP
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) July 28, 2026
“I’m excited — it’s real football. The pads will eventually come on,” Hafley said. “You’re not just gearing up for OTAs, you’re gearing up for actual games.”
The locker room sounds bought in, too. Willis told reporters he extended an open invitation for offseason workouts in Jacksonville, and six or seven teammates showed up for on-field chemistry building. He also said the extensions for Achane, Brewer and Brooks “lit a fire” in the locker room about this year “not being a rebuild.”
The front office kept tinkering right up to the deadline as well, signing veteran edge Clelin Ferrell and waiving defensive lineman Kahlil Saunders a day before veterans reported. Now the roster churn gives way to actual practice, with the first session of the 2026 season buildup set for Wednesday morning — and the most important skill player on the team taking every rep.
