Dolphins RB De’Von Achane in practice facility amid extension talks, reports say
There’s finally good news on the De’Von Achane front.
The star running back visited the Miami Dolphins practice facility Thursday, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.
This comes after Achane, who he enters into the final year of his deal in 2026, skipped the beginning of the Dolphins’ offseason program that started last week.
“It is believed that Achane showed up as a sign of good faith as the two sides continue discussing a contract extension,” Schefter wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Despite Achane’s initial absence when the voluntary workouts began, coach Jeff Hafley downplayed the situation, calling it “part of the business.”
“It’s part of what every team goes through in those situations, and they’ll work it out,” Hafley said April 7, the opening day of the offseason program.
The Dolphins have continuously named Achane as a huge piece of their future with general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan even recently confirming the tailback is not for sale.
“He is not available for trade,” Sullivan said Wednesday. “Things are going good. We’ve had some positive conversations over the last couple of days, trending in the right direction. He’s obviously very important to what we’re doing, and it’s all part of it. It’s part of professional sports. We’ll get where we need to be one way or the other, but yeah, things are trending in the right direction.”
A first-time Pro Bowler in 2025, Achane transformed into the driving force of the Dolphins’ offense last season, finishing the year with 1,350 yards on the ground, a league-leading 5.4 yards per carry and a dozen total touchdowns. The former Texas A&M standout not only led the team in catches but racked up 1,838 yards from scrimmage, the second-best total in Dolphins franchise history.
“Achane is a very, very important piece of what we want to do moving forward,” Sullivan said March 30 at the owner’s meeting. “He’s a building block for us. It is a priority for us to get a deal done for him in the coming weeks, months.”
To keep Achane, the Dolphins would likely have to hand him a deal in the range of Buffalo Bills running back James Cook, who signed a four-year, $48 million extension in August 2025. Miami, however, should want to finish the extension before a slew of other top running backs, including the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs, Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson, New York Jets’ Breece Hall and Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, all of whom have two or fewer years left on their contract, reset the market.
With the Dolphins’ offense already in serious need of a talent upgrade, they could not afford to lose a player of Achane’s caliber, especially with a first-time starting quarterback in Malik Willis at the helm.
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:57 PM.
