The Dolphins are placing standout rookie running back De’Von Achane on injured reserve due to a knee injury, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
Achane will miss at least the Dolphins’ next four games (home against the Panthers, at the Eagles, home against the Patriots and against the Chiefs in Germany).
With the team scheduled for a bye in Week 10, the first game he will be eligible to return will be in Week 11 when the Dolphins host the Raiders.
Achane sustained his knee injury in Sunday’s 31-16 win over the Giants, a game in which he rushed for 151 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 76-yard touchdown run.
Achane has been highly effective through his first four games with the Dolphins. His 460 rushing yards ranks second in the NFL behind Christian McCaffrey, and his 12.1 yards per carry average is nearly 5 yards greater than that of the next closest player this season, Breece Hall (7.2).
His yards per carry average is also the highest in NFL history through a team’s first five games of a season, according to ESPN Stats & Info research.
On the strength of Achane’s performances over the past three weeks, the Dolphins lead the NFL in passing, rushing and scoring while accumulating the most yards of offense through five games in NFL history.
Without Achane in the lineup, veteran Raheem Mostert, the NFL’s co-leader in rushing touchdowns, is in line for a heavier workload. A source told ESPN the Dolphins will also activate the practice window for running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who has spent the first four weeks of the season on injured reserve with multiple injuries.
The Dolphins also signed running back Jake Funk to the practice squad Tuesday. Funk cleared waivers on Monday after being released by the Indianapolis Colts.
ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.