Achane gets paid in new extension with Dolphins
Mike Florio and Chris Simms react to De'Von Achane's extension with the Dolphins, explaining why the deal works out for both sides and shows Miami isn't committed to "tanking."
Video Transcript
You will have Devonta Smith- Mm-hmm.
Correct in this offense, and I'm curious, you know, what you see in a weapon like him.
Obviously you've been using the pass game a lot.
So from afar, just watching him, you know, when I was in Philly, they ran our cutups from time to time, and what a dynamic player he is.
So, like, when you watch a guy like that, when you get on the field and can watch him in person, now it'll really be impressive because there's so many different things he did.
There were so many times where we'd put tape on and we were playing an opponent, maybe the Dolphins just played, and you watch all the different things he did, whether he lined up as a receiver, a true running back.
You know, just whatever it may be, he's so dynamic.
I think that brings so much to the offense, right?
It really stresses the defense 'cause he's not just playing running back.
So it's, it's gonna be really exciting to get him out there, you know, once he's healthy and ready to roll.
But no, he's definitely a big-time weapon.
I'm very excited to be around him.
That was Kevin Patulo, formerly of the Eagles, now with the Dolphins.
And as the Dolphins have torn down a lot of pieces that we expected to not be back in Miami, even if Mike McDaniel had remained the head coach, Devonta Smith was one where we just kind of wondered.
Once they traded Jalen Waddle, it's like, well, everybody's kind of fair game here.
And then they made this big show of, oh, he's not available.
Well, for the right price he is.
They're telling us they haven't gotten the right offer yet for Devonta Smith, so they keep him and they pay him.
Word broke early yesterday evening, a four-year extension.
There are differing, numbers on whether it's a 64 million base, which would be What would that be?
16 million a year.
Yep.
Or a $68 million base, which is 17 million a year.
It's possible the final $4 million between 64 and 68 is in the form of incentives.
Either way, it makes him the third highest paid running back, new money average.
He already leaps, leapfrogs Breece Hall, and there is Devonta Smith, third overall.
And I'm told that Breece Hall I'm waiting for the full numbers here.
I'm told the real, the real new money APY there isn't even 15, that it's not even past Derrick Henry.
But we'll see.
And this is all agent games, and this is, you know, the player got security, and it's just a matter of degree.
A good deal is a good deal, and at the running back position, anybody on that board has a good deal.
Yeah, yeah.
It, they do.
It, it's good to see.
I, I Listen, the, the number, if it stands, I, I, he's a phenomenal player.
I totally get that.
I'm, yeah, I'm surprised he's gonna get that after three years, only 1,000-yard rushing season.
But at the same time, there's no doubt he's one of the 10, top 10 running backs in football.
he is, and he's just hitting the prime of his career.
And like we've talked about a little bit here recently, he's the best player on their offense.
He's the best guy.
There's nobody better.
And who's the new offensive coordinator?
Bobby Slowik.
Where is he from?
Oh, Shanahan and Mike McDaniel.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
He's looking at the film going, Wait, I run this play.
Oh, he's good at it.
That was a touchdown.
Oh, I run this play, too.
Oh, damn, that was another touchdown by him.
Wow, I need this guy.
We gotta have him.
You know, they traded Jalen Waddle.
Tyreek Hill's not gonna be there.
And then that combination with him and Malik Willis in the backfield, as we know, that's gonna be dangerous.
It's gonna put in the same predicaments that Josh Allen and J- James Cook or Lamar and Derrick Henry put in defenses, where you just don't know.
Wait, did he give the ball?
Is it the quarterback?
I don't know.
And that's a dangerous, dangerous combination right now in the NFL.
They clearly believe in Devonta Smith, and I just can't help but wonder.
We talked about how with Breece Hall, once Frank Reich shows up as offensive coordinator and he starts talking to some of the coaching staff and people in the organization, it's like, what are we doing here?
I wonder if there was some of that, too, as they come in and they tear down everything that needed to be torn down with the Miami Dolphins.
John Eric Sullivan, the new GM, Jeff Hafley, the new head coach.
It's kind of like, yeah.
Yeah.
We can't lose this guy.
No, no.
We can't lose this guy.
Yeah.
And that, the fact that they paid him, the fact that they're keeping him and paying him is the best evidence that they are not tanking.
This isn't a full season push for Arch Manning or whoever ends up being the most desirable prospect in the 2027 draft.
No, definitely.
They're You got Mike Malik.
They are going to try- Yeah to retool on the fly- Right and win.
Yes.
Yeah, that's what it seems like.
Totally.
They wanna make this work with Malik Willis.
They didn't give him that kind of money to go, "Well, it's a one-year flyer."
They, they believe he could be the long haul answer there, and I believe that as well.
Now, yes, they gotta support him and, and they're all rebuilding on the fly.
But you, defensive head coach with that offensive coordinator like we're talking about, the best player on your offense, no-brainer.
Sign him up.
He's only played three years.
He hasn't carried the ball all that much in the three years, too.
So you'd like to think, hey, there's a lot of tread left on the tires that way.
And then, and we know Jeff Hafley wants to play through his defense.
They have some potential on the O line, right?
They got a lot of high draft picks that, you know, have been good.
Some haven't quite gotten to that potential yet, but there's, there is potential there to where they could be something in the run game.
So totally understand it.
But I will say, surprised that it was that much money, year three.
He's 5'9", he's 190 pounds, right?
It's a little bit different, but I'm all for it because like we always talk about, he's one of the freakiest guys on the football team.
And the running back is, you know, disrespected too often because of that short shelf life they have in the NFL.
And that's the key.
As soon as the window opens on getting a second contract, if you're a running back, you have got to try to make it happen because four years, five years, by then it's too late.
By then they're gonna find somebody else.
By then the concern is that you're getting too close to the end, and they don't wanna pay for what you've already done.
They wanna pay for what you're going to do, so you gotta get paid before you do it.
I think for And look, we've got all sorts of different ideas.
You've got good ideas.
I've got good ideas.
Nobody's gonna pay any attention to it, but it's a shame.
And this is one of the reasons why putting all players in one bargaining unit can be a problem because I think the running backs have unique needs and requirements to get paid what they can early in their careers.
Because by the time it naturally comes up, it could be too late.
Good for Davone Chan and his representation to get it done as soon as that window opened after three years in the NFL.
Yeah, totally.
And, and you're right.
I, I mean, I wish we could find some type of formula where it- it's like, the running back, you know, it's only 75 cents to the dollar to help them out a little bit.
Or if you rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie, you become a free agent and you hit the open market.
We've thrown around all kinds of ideas like that.
I've talked to running backs about this, because running backs have heard me, you know, throughout the years constantly trying to make a case here.
but, but yeah, I don't know if anything's gonna be done, but I do think at least the league's starting to realize it.
And we are a little bit right back now into a cyclical era of, "Hey, we wanna be big.
We wanna run the football."
And so the running back value has gone up, and I think people are starting to look at it going, "Hey, wait, we're just doing two or three-year contracts for everybody in the NFL.
What, what, what the hell matters if we give the guy that's the best on our team and we pay him pretty good for the two or three years?
What, what's the big deal?"
And I, I'm hoping that that, that, you know, thought is changing for, for everybody in the NFL.
You know the solution, and I say this only somewhat facetiously, to go back to what we discussed at the top of the show, and if you missed it, your loss.
Yeah.
You can catch the re-air somewhere or listen to the podcast.
The guys who would be great running backs need to play soccer.
Not all of them, but just enough of them to shrink the supply of great running backs coming out of college.
I hear you.
'Cause that is the root of it.
Right.
There are great running backs.
Every major college program has a running back who could, in theory, play in the NFL.
If he can hold onto the football, if he can pick up blitzers, and if you give him enough of a hole that he can get through it, there are guys all over the place that could play in the NFL, and that makes teams more inclined to not pay the veteran and to go with someone else.
Look at what the Seahawks did with the Super Bowl MVP.
Bye.
We'll draft, we'll draft a new- Yeah running back instead.
Right.
So running backs, don't play a different position.
Play a different sport.
Go play soccer.
Build the US Men's National Team, and then that thins the number of running backs available to the NFL, and it gets all the running backs paid.
Everybody wins.
Oh, hold on.
Let's take a break.
Brian Burns is ready to take on- The principal's office- What?
is calling for you.
They're, they want you at the principal's office again.
