How Good is Achane?<\/p>\n
Achane has been a standout for the Dolphins since being drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Achane has run for at least 800 yards in all three of his seasons with the team, and that includes a breakout 2025 campaign that saw Achane gallop for more than 1,350 yards. <\/p>\n
Running backs are not the commodity they used to be in the NFL, as they have consistently become devalued pieces, with teams hesitant to commit hefty salaries to a position that goes through as much wear and tear as running backs do. <\/p>\n
The Seattle Seahawks are a recent example of this practice. Kenneth Walker was one of their best players during their playoff run in 2025, and topped that off by winning MVP honors in Super Bowl LX.<\/p>\n
Despite that fact, the Seahawks allowed Walker to hit the open market. He weighed multiple offers before signing a 3-year deal worth up to $45 million with the Kansas City Chiefs. <\/p>\n
Walker will certainly be one point of comparison for a new contract for Achane, while a division rival could provide another point of inflection. The division rival Buffalo Bills gave James Cook a four-year $48 million extension last August, which included $30 million in guaranteed money. <\/p>\n
Those were contracts given in the past, but there are more on the horizon as well. Both Bijan Robinson from Atlanta and Jahmyr Gibbs from Detroit are now extension-eligible and likely to seek new deals even though the Falcons and Lions figure to exercise the fifth-year option for 2027 on each of their contract.<\/p>\n
Dfferences In Contracts?<\/p>\n
That is true of Achane as well, with one major difference. Achane was not a first-round pick and his contract will expire next offseason, with the only caveat being that the Dolphins could use the franchise or transition tag on him.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a practice that Jon-Eric Sullivan is used to using, as the Packers have never used the franchise tag under Brian Gutekunst, and have not done so since using the tag on Corey Williams in 2008. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an uncommon practice in Sullivan\u2019s background, because it\u2019s a fully guaranteed salary for just one season. The price to put the franchise tag on a running back for the 2026 season was 14.2 million, according to Spotrac.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0That will go up further next year with the likely extensions on the horizon for some of the aforementioned players like Robinson and Gibbs. <\/p>\n Therefore, that seems unlikely to be the path Sullivan would want to take. It\u2019s an expensive route to create more tension, another lengthy holdout, and a potential distraction one year from now. <\/p>\n Of course that will also only make his final contract more expensive, which is not something that Sullivan is completely opposed to. <\/p>\n
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