The Miami Dolphins are staring at a familiar kind of problem, only this one hits a lot harder: De’Von Achane is done for the season with a torn ACL, and now Miami has to figure out how to patch together the backfield without its top rusher and a 2025 Pro Bowl selection.
Right now, the Dolphins have Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II on the 53-man roster, with Jarquez Hunter and Carlos Washington, Jr. on the practice squad. That group gives Miami something to work with, but there’s also a very real chance the team looks outside the building for a veteran on a minimum deal.
The Dolphins aren’t expected to spend big. They just need enough depth to keep the offense moving in a system that runs through the ground game.
One option is Kareem Hunt, the former Kansas City Chiefs back who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2017 after leading the league in rushing yards. Last season, he logged 163 carries for 611 yards and eight touchdowns.
He wouldn’t be a one-for-one answer for Achane, but he could give Miami another physical piece to pair with Gordon and complement Wright’s speed. At this stage, he’s more of a steady rotation back than a feature runner, but he could still handle about 10 carries a game.
Raheem Mostert is another name that makes sense on paper. Miami knows him well, and he’s spent significant time with both the San Francisco 49ers from 2016-2021 and the Dolphins from 2022-2024.
Mostert was a Pro Bowl pick in 2023 after leading the league in rushing touchdowns with Miami. Last year with the Las Vegas Raiders, though, he had just 22 carries for yards in 12 games.
He wouldn’t be brought in to carry the load, but he could help keep Wright and Gordon fresh.
Joe Mixon also sits on the board if he clears the medical issues that wiped out his entire 2025 season. If his foot checks out, he’d bring real production after rushing for 1,016 yards in 2024 with the Houston Texans.
He’s the kind of back who could handle a heavy workload, though he still wouldn’t be a direct Achane replacement. If Miami went this route, Wright could stay in the lead role while Mixon worked as the second option.
Nick Chubb is another veteran possibility. He just re-signed with the Cleveland Browns to ceremony retire as a member of the team, but the Dolphins could still try to bring him in for the rest of the year.
Wright would likely remain Miami’s top back, while Chubb would give them a more physical rotational option. He could also move ahead of Gordon once he settles in.
The caution here is obvious: Chubb dealt with a knee injury in 2023 and wasn’t back to full form in 2024 or 2025, and over the last two seasons he has only 224 carries for 838 yards.
Then there’s Cam Akers, who is only 27 and still carries some upside. A second-round pick in 2020, he has already bounced through five different teams in seven different stretches.
His best run came with the Los Angeles Rams from 2020 through 2023, when his blend of speed and power stood out. In 2025, though, he appeared in only three games for Seattle and had no carries.
For Miami, he’d fit as a depth piece, not a headline solution, giving Wright a breather when needed.
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