MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane's outlook "doesn't sound very optimistic" after he was forced out of the team's game Sunday with a knee injury.
Achane took his third rushing attempt of the game 11 yards around the left end but was tackled awkwardly by Kansas City Chiefs safety Alohi Gilman. He was slow to leave the field after the tackle and was eventually escorted to the blue medical tent under his own power. The Pro Bowler ultimately left the tent after a few minutes and was taken to the locker room for additional testing.
He did not return to the sideline in the first half but was seen on the Dolphins' sideline after halftime without his shoulder pads or helmet on.
After the game, Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley said the team is still gathering information on its star running back's injury but admitted that things did not look promising.
"To be very honest with you, it does not sound very optimistic at this moment," Hafley said. "But I can't give you any other details until I have them."
With running back Jaylen Wright inactive Sunday with a stinger, the Dolphins activated only two running backs this week -- Achane and second-year back Ollie Gordon II, who punched in his first touchdown of the season following Achane's injury.
Wide receiver Malik Washington also took snaps at running back after Achane's injury, and Hafley said their game-day roster construction was intentional because of their confidence in Washington's ability to fill in if needed.
"We felt good with Malik in that third spot," Hafley said. "When you look at the entire roster, every move we make affects another position ... There's always so much that goes into it and we felt good with Malik."
Gordon finished the game with 41 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while quarterback Malik Willis added another 56 rushing yards on nine attempts. The Dolphins as a whole ran for a season-high 119 yards and recorded more than 300 yards of offense for the first time this season.
Gordon, a former Doak Walker Award winner, drew praise from both Hafley and Willis for handling a comprehensive list of responsibilities as the team's lone active running back following Achane's injury.
"It was super tough on him, I'm super proud of him," Willis said. "I told him in the game, you have to just man the ship alone. We only had two backs activated today. I mean he had to do this side of the oars, that side of the oars. He had to grab the wheel, he had to [man the sails]. I was like, dang, he had to do it all today. I was just super proud of him because he didn't quit and he had kept the energy in the huddle and I was just super proud of him. That was great."
Achane missed five games with a knee injury as a rookie but has otherwise been more durable than his 5-foot-9, 195-pound frame would suggest, especially considering his workload. He missed two combined games over the past two seasons, despite handling 586 total touches in 2024 and 2025.
He's coming off the best season of his career in 2025, during which he recorded 1,838 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl.
Achane has been the focal point of the Dolphins' offense for the past three seasons. He has touched the ball 627 times since 2024; no other current Dolphins player has more than 150 in that span.
Hafley didn't want to speculate on what the Dolphins would do if Achane is forced to miss significant time, but Willis said situations like these are why the team practices.
Following Achane's injury, the Dolphins scored on a 17-play, 91-yard drive that featured four third-down conversions. It's the exact response Willis said the team expects to have when a player goes down.
"[I] think that's the thing we're just trying to build here as far as building the foundation with Hafley and everybody else," Willis said. "We're all together, right? So, when a person goes down, it shouldn't be a drop off. It shouldn't be anything like that. It should be next person step up. We've got to communicate and continue to build and grow.
"When we say grow, it's like in every walk-through if we have a rep that gets busted and messed up, the next person in line, when we go with twos or threes, they shouldn't mess that rep up. And I think that's just continuing working that trajectory. That's what allowed us to just keep going."
The Dolphins will look to earn their first win under Hafley against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4.