General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has previously called Achane \u201ca building block\u201d and expressed a desire to sign him<\/a> to an extension.<\/p>\n \u201cAchane is a very, very important piece of what we want to do moving forward,\u201d Sullivan said March 30 at the owner\u2019s meeting. \u201cHe\u2019s a building block for us. It is a priority for us to get a deal done for him in the coming weeks, months.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as numbers go, Achane likely wants a deal in the range of Buffalo Bills running back James Cook, who signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension<\/a> in August 2025. The issue: several other running backs including the Detroit Lions\u2019 Jahmyr Gibbs, Atlanta Falcons\u2019 Bijan Robinson, New York Jets\u2019 Breece Hall and Indianapolis Colts\u2019 Jonathan Taylor all have two or fewer years on their contracts and could threaten to drive up the price. That means it\u2019s incumbent for Sullivan to get the deal done as soon as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody is untouchable in this business because you never know who is on the other side of the phone and what they want to offer, but there is zero effort on my end to move Achane,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cI\u2019m very excited about him. He\u2019s a difference-maker for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Willis, however, had a different official start to his Dolphins tenure. Miami signed the quarterback to a three-year, $67.5 million contract near the start of free agency with the hope that he can grow into a franchise guy. Hafley\u2019s advice to the 26-year-old was rather simple.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019Don\u2019t change who you are,\u2019\u201d Hafley recalled telling Willis. \u201cI said \u2018Don\u2019t put any extra pressure on yourself. You earned the right to be here and this opportunity, and you\u2019ve done that by doing all the things the right way. Don\u2019t change that. Don\u2019t press. Just be you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n With only six NFL starts, Willis could want to prove that he\u2019s more than his brief professional resume, something that could result in changing what got him here. Hafley, however, wants the young quarterback to avoid those landmines.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to make sure that he understands that it doesn\u2019t have to be perfect,\u201d Hafley continued. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be mistakes made. I want him to play with that confidence and I want him to play the way he\u2019s always done it.\u201d<\/p>\n What will make Willis\u2019 job infinitely more difficult is the lack of proven weapons. As of this writing, the Dolphins\u2019 pass-catching core \u2014 Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, Tutu Atwell, Theo Wease Jr., Tahj Washington, Terrace Marshall Jr., AJ Henning, Greg Dulcich, Ben Sims, Jalin Conyers and Cole Turner \u2014 doesn\u2019t have a guy who has posted more than 1,000 yards through the air in the NFL. Oh, and his star running back didn\u2019t report Tuesday.<\/p>\n Hopefully, the Achane conundrum will be solved sooner than later, allowing Willis to begin building sooner rather than later \u2014 even if Phase One of the offseason<\/a> program doesn\u2019t allow for much on-field work.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 2:20 PM.<\/p>\n
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