MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins rookie star De’Von Achane is in danger of missing time after suffering a knee injury in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel acknowledged during his Monday news conference that Achane is dealing with a knee injury, but was quite vague about the nature and his timeline to return.
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De’Von Achane Suffers Knee Injury
McDaniel said Achane is currently being evaluated for a knee injury, and little information is known at this time.
“I’m not really thinking anything so much right now,” McDaniel said when asked if Achane would be in question for Sunday. “We’re still in the process of getting evaluated, so it’s to be determined.”
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 missed a noticeable amount of time in the second half of Sunday’s game but did return to action. McDaniel suggested Achane toughed it out, but whatever the AFC’s leading rusher is dealing with is significant enough to send him for additional tests on Monday.
“it is just something that we’re treating and that we’ll get more information on,” McDaniel said. “But he was he was in and out of the game standard rotation. I think like like normal, then he thought that he was 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.”
After some injury speculation, Achane out there post-game with no ice on either leg pic.twitter.com/jVBW8KsUw6
— gth TOLD YALL (@gth829c) October 8, 2023
When asked if he could rule out a season-ending injury, McDaniel replied:
“When I don’t know, I literally don’t spend any time forecasting either way,” McDaniel said. “That’s all. It’s just because we’re getting more information. But I find it trivial to even forecast until you get all the information, so I really don’t know.”
If Achane cannot play Sunday, the ripple effects are significant. The Dolphins, as of Monday, had not decided to activate Jeff Wilson Jr. from injured reserve (IR). But certainly, if Achane — who has rushed for 460 yards this season — cannot play, the need increases for another running back.
“That’s something that we were planning on visiting once we had we got the entirety of kind of the medical evaluations that come through and the latter half of today, and some little tomorrow,” McDaniel said of Wilson. “So our plan is to revisit that regardless, which was our plan going into it, so we’ll talk about it probably tomorrow.”
On Tuesday, it was reported by NFL Network that Achane could miss multiple weeks due to the knee injury. ESPN further reported that Achane could be placed on the IR.
Achane Injury Fantasy Impact
Achane has been a fantasy football superstar in his limited opportunity so far this season, so fantasy managers aren’t exactly thrilled to hear that he is dealing with a knee injury.
While the full extent of the injury is still somewhat unknown at the time of writing, fantasy managers should try to prepare as if Achane could miss the next five weeks if he is placed on the IR.
That would see him miss the game against the Carolina Panthers, at the Philadelphia Eagles, home to the New England Patriots, and the game in Germany against the Chiefs. The Dolphins then have a Week 10 bye before returning in Week 11.
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It is always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If that is the case, Raheem Mostert should move back into the must-start category for fantasy managers, while Wilson remains an interesting player to keep an eye on as he may be coming off of injured reserve in time for Week 6.
This would make Wilson a must add off of the waiver wire this week, but we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
— Fantasy Director Kyle Yates
Pro Football Network reporter Jill Nachtigal contributed to this report.