• The Miami Dolphins are trying to make two things true at once: that their season is getting better by the week, and that the quarterback insurance they bought in Malik Willis was worth the trouble.
  • That balancing act got harder Monday, when the team learned star running back De’Von Achane tore his ACL in the Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
  • Achane’s injury removes the player who had been central to Miami’s offense, and it lands at the exact moment the Dolphins were already trying to prove that their early-season progress was real.
  • Miami landed on him as its new QB1, and he was described as “easily the most coveted field general on the open market.” His three-year contract is structured to give him at least a two-season runway to prove himself, which matters because the Dolphins are not treating this as a one-week patch.
  • The Dolphins’ schedule is described as one of the toughest on paper, which makes every small step forward more important and every setback more expensive.
  • The Dolphins were already being discussed as essentially a lock for a top-five pick next year, and Achane’s season-ending injury only sharpens the pressure on the offense to find answers elsewhere.