Not Understanding The Criticism of Achane Extension

Teams don’t value running backs like they used. Remember when the Dolphins traded for Ricky Williams and gave up what turned out to be 2 first round picks. Or the New York Jets giving restricted free agent Curtis Martin a big contract, and if the New England Patriots didn’t match, the Patriots would give up a 1st- and 3rd-round pick.

The Jets ended up giving up a lot. The problem is you don’t see those types of trades for running backs anymore. A few years ago, the San Francisco 49ers traded a 2nd and 3rd round pick to the Carolina Panthers for running back Christian McCaffrey. Would Sully take that if offered? I don’t think so. 

In the short time Sully has been here, he seems very bright, has a plan with conviction, and knows the league inside and out from his contact in the league from climbing the ladder with the Green Bay Packers for 20 years. He wasn’t going to settle on a deal for Achane. It would have to be something that would blow him away like a 1st round pick, but Sully knows that nobody was going to offer him that, and he wanted to keep Achane. 

 Sully inherited a team in salary cap hell, frankly, and he had two choices: rip the band-aid off and take the financial hardship this year, or kick the can down the road. He chose to rip the band-aid and take the financial hardship, but he did identify a few core players in Achane, Jordan Brooks, Aaron Brewer, and Jaylen Waddle as players he wanted to keep.

Now, with Waddle, he didn’t want to trade him, but the Denver Broncos were very aggressive and offered 1st- and 3rd-round picks, which is probably the deal he could have gotten from anyone. I love Waddle, but he hasn’t stepped up his game like expected. The jury is out on Brooks and Brewer, but Sully would like to sign them, but at what cost? Interior linemen and linebackers are getting paid more and much more than running backs. 

 Sully also wants to draft, develop, and retain players, which is something former GM Chris Grier never did. Think about it since overseeing the draft from 2016 through 2025. How many players did he give second contracts after drafting them? The answer off the top of my head is 4 in Xavien Howard, Tua Tagovalioa, Jaylen Waddle, and Austin Jackson.

The number is probably a little more, but not by much.

He let good talent get away from this team after 2023 in Christian Wilkins, Brandon Jones, Andrew Van Gin Kel, Robert Hunt, and others, but he wasn’t afraid to spend big money on free agents who were busts like Byron Jones and Will Fuller or injury-prone players like Bradley Chubb, James Daniels, and Terron Armstead. That’s part of the reason the Dolphins are in this mess with the salary cap. 

Sully is trying to change that, and we’ll see if he does in the next few years after a few draft classes, but it was refreshing that he got ahead and gave Achane the extension even though he didn’t draft him. Instead, he identified him as a valuable player the team can win with as they rebuild the roster. That should give Sully some praise and not criticism because they are rebuilding.