Jaylen Waddle and De'Von Achane
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The Dolphins are set to continue receiving trade calls for De'Von Achane after moving Jaylen Waddle
The Miami Dolphins are having a full-on fire sale this offseason, and that continued on Tuesday morning when the team sent star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos, along with a fourth-round pick. In return, Miami received first, third, and fourth-round picks from Denver.
At this point, there isn’t much talent left on the Dolphins roster, as they are dealing with a clustered salary cap that features over $160 million going to player who aren’t on their team. With the front office continuing to unload players at a breakneck pace, the guy everyone is looking at now is running back De’Von Achane, who may just be the best player left in town.
Teams Expected to Continue Making Trade Offers for De’Von Achane
Amid all the chaos that has taken place in Miami this offseason, the team’s new-look front office continually insisted that it would not be trading either Waddle or Achane. With Malik Willis being signed to replace Tua Tagovailoa at the quarterback position, it made sense that the Dolphins would want to keep some weapons in place for him.
Instead, that train of thought has completely vanished now that Waddle is on the move. With teams seeing that Waddle was available for the right price, that will likely prompt them to check back in on Achane, who was one of the best dual-threat running backs in the league last season (238 CAR, 1,350 YDS, 8 TD, 67 REC, 488 YDS, 4 TD), despite playing in the Dolphins’ horrific offense.
Moving Waddle saps the Dolphins offense of one of their only top-tier playmakers, but getting rid of Achane would make this group easily the worst unit in the league. While it makes a lot of sense for Miami to keep Achane, it sounds like the trade rumors surrounding him are set to pick back up now that Waddle is on the move.
“Dolphins RB De’Von Achane is 24 years old and entering the final year of his contract. It would make sense to keep him so Malik Willis has something to work with, but it’s safe to say teams will be calling,” Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team reported in a post on X.
Should the Dolphins Trade De’Von Achane?
De'Von Achane
GettyMIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 08: De’Von Achane #28 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates after defeating the New York Giants at Hard Rock Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Whereas the Dolphins had already handed Waddle a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension back in May 2024, they have to worry about an impending extension for Achane, whose rookie contract is set to expire after the 2026 season. If Miami doesn’t want to hand him a big-money deal, it would make sense to trade him.
As noted above, though, the Dolphins have to keep some weapons around for Willis as he looks to find his way with his new team. Right now, the current crop of players around him indicates he’s being set up to fail, and getting rid of Achane certainly wouldn’t help erase that notion. Miami has been moving on from everybody this offseason, but Achane may be the one guy it actually wants to keep in town.