![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TFL-L-DOLPHINS-BUCS-015.jpg\")
Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane (28) runs past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, on Dec. 28 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\nWell, there\u2019s another box checked. They\u2019re adding up now. The new-regime Miami Dolphins gave a logical answer to how they\u2019ll deal with players contracts, in contrast to the previous decade\u2019s manner that was detached from any rationale or coherence:<\/p>\n
The best, most productive players of the proper age will be paid the best.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the new Dolphins way. It might sound funny to\u00a0 frame De\u2019Von Achane\u2019s four-year, $64 million contract extension in such a fundamental manner. But isn\u2019t it a welcome change for this new regime to bring some fundamental concepts in with them?<\/p>\n
Size matters on the lines. Production matters in drafting players. Players will be on time to meetings. Practices will be outside in the South Florida heat because, well, that\u2019s how games are played in Hard Rock Stadium.<\/p>\n
And now the best player gets top-drawer money.<\/p>\n
All this matters, because before the Dolphins can be good again on the field they have to be good off the field again.<\/p>\n
You couldn\u2019t come up with a player more deserving of a new contract this offseason than Achane, considering his age (24), his production (league-leading 5.7-yard rushing average), his durability (playing 33 of the past 35 games) \u2014 in short, he\u2019s the big, home run weapon Sullivan inherited on offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cA priority,\u2019\u2019 general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said of Achane, almost since arriving in South Florida.<\/p>\n
So, completing the deal is another, early step in the right direction of returning this Dolphins to professional standards. But let\u2019s not overdo this. It\u2019s just a step, like applauding someone for doing something expected like getting a driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n
The context of this contract was for years the Dolphins have managed to mishandle predictably inevitable deals of players approaching the end of rookie contracts like Achane was. Remember? Christian Wilkins. Robert Hunt. Brandon Jones. Andrew Van Ginkel. \u2026<\/p>\n
Their lack of good drafts for years was exacerbated by how they regularly dropped the negotiations of their scant good picks and lost them to free agency.<\/p>\n
Then there was the expensive flip side: Tua Tagovailoa. Jalen Ramsey. Tyreek Hill. Bradley Chubb. \u2026<\/p>\n
Their excessive spending on the wrong players for too many wrong reasons was part of an organizational lack of self-awareness. And it meant Sullivan\u2019s first order of business was cleaning up this toxic checkbook. It\u2019s why this team is salary-cap Siberia this season with an NFL-record $182 million of dead money.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave Cash, Will Spend it,\u2019\u2019 is the sign team owner Steve Ross always holds. It\u2019s how he met GM candidates, too, as Sullivan said: \u201cHis words to me were, \u2018If you don\u2019t get this done, you will never be able to say it was because you didn\u2019t have the resources.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Using the resources smartly is as important as having them, though. Maybe that\u2019s something the Dolphins learned in recent years. The most important point is Sullivan would have learned that in a Green Bay organization.<\/p>\n
The Packers put proper emphasis on crafting a culture, drafting well, maintaining salary-cap standards, and Green Bay has graduated front-office types like this year\u2019s Super Bowl GMs in Seattle\u2019s John Schneider and New England\u2019s Eliot Wolf.<\/p>\n
Sullivan inherited the mother of all rebuilds between the contractual problems and roster mess. Considering the previous regime\u2019s Good Ship Lollipop approach to star players and money, a prime question was if he would go the opposite way to set a new-sheriff-in-town standard.<\/p>\n
He instead went the way you\u2019d want to build a team. Achane isn\u2019t the biggest back, but his 4.11 yards after contact led the league. He has the speed to be a home run hitter as his league-leading 24 runs over 15 yards show. He\u2019s a three-down back with his receiving skills.<\/p>\n
Finally, while a quiet personality, he played with the personality you want, especially on the up-and-down offenses the Dolphins have had. Asked once what he was most proud of he didn\u2019t talk of numbers or exploits.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being available every game,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the main thing I\u2019m proud of. Being there. Injuries happen, contact, non-contact injuries happen. But being out there every game for the team, being able to finish the game \u2014 being available the next week, and the next, is something I\u2019m proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yep, his signing is another box checked this offseason for this new regime. The best player got the big money, a fundamental idea that hasn\u2019t been followed enough in this organization but seems to have returned.<\/p>\n
Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane (28) runs past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, on Dec. 28 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
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