MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Dolphins running back De'Von Achane likely will miss this week of practice as he nurses a calf injury, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Achane was sidelined for Miami's preseason game against the Lions on Saturday and was held out of the second day of joint practices at Detroit.
McDaniel said the team is mostly being preventative by holding Achane out.
“Calves are the ones that you have to be super proactive, especially with explosive players," McDaniel said. "We don’t want to have a long, strenuous, nagging issue. So we probably won’t see De’Von this week after further assessment through the (past) weekend. But that’s more preventative in nature just because — all trainers across the league have horror stories with calves if you’re too aggressive coming back.”
Achane has rushed for 1,707 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons for the Dolphins and is expected to be one of Miami's top offensive weapons this season.
The Dolphins will host the Jacksonville Jaguars for one joint practice on Thursday before their preseason finale Saturday night.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who has been dealing with an undisclosed injury, will return to practice this week. And tight end Darren Waller could practice for the first time.
Waller came out of retirement in July to sign a one-year deal with the Dolphins but has been working out separately from the team as he gets back into football shape.
“This is where we thought a realistic assessment would be made," McDaniel said, "and we're kind of making that daily. I'm expecting to see him sooner than later. I (thought) in the back of my mind that it would be this week, but I'm not going to just put him out there this week just because I said it before. I'm hopeful, but it's very soon.”
The Dolphins hosted four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon on a free agent visit Monday.
Jaelan Phillips and Chop Robinson sustained injuries over the past week, but McDaniel said bringing in Judon was not related to any potential long-term injuries to the team's linebackers.
“Visiting for visiting purposes," he said. “We'll see what it leads to.”
Judon had 41 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown in 15 starts for the Atlanta Falcons last year.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller walks onto the field during a joint NFL football training camp with the Detroit Lions, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, right, and running back Devon Achane run drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the Detroit Lions, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Ricky Brabec deliberately gave up his motorbike lead over Luciano Benavides in the Dakar Rally while Nasser Al-Attiyah was happy to cruise through another day closer to his sixth car title on Thursday.
Al-Attiyah started 346-kilometer stage 11 between Bisha north to Al Henakiyah with a 12-minute overall lead and let it drop to less than nine minutes over new second-placed driver Nani Roma in a Ford.
Al-Attiyah was content to let Dacia teammate Sébastien Loeb catch up and pass him to have a teammate nearby for any help and to minimize errors on the mazy, dirt track. Al-Attiyah was 17th, nearly 13 minutes behind stage winner Mattias Ekström, and said he needed to execute the same plan on Friday's last effective racing stage before the end on Saturday.
“If we lose two, three, four minutes no problem,” Al-Attiyah said. “We just need to finish this Dakar in first place.”
Honda cooked up a strategy in the Saudi desert for Adrien van Beveren to open the way and let Brabec catch up after the 190-kilometer pit stop and pick up time bonuses.
Brabec boosted his overall lead from 56 seconds to nearly four minutes just 25 kilometers from the finish. He was also within a minute of the stage lead but he slowed down so KTM rival Benavides was the new overall leader, but only by 23 seconds.
Brabec got his his wish to start Friday's stage 12 six minutes behind Benavides, so he can eye him. They head west to the rally starting point of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on 311 kilometers of gravel, some river beds with a finish in the dunes.
“A little bit of strategy today and hopefully it pays off tomorrow,” Brabec said. "I feel like its going to be a good day. We’re going back into the rocks so it will be a little bit better for us.”
Brabec is counting on his experience of winning the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 to trump Benavides, who has a best placing of fourth last year.
“I've been in this situation before,” Brabec said. “For the whole two weeks I've been just trying to stay relax, stay comfortable and just be confident, so two days more. I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow that I've been doing every day; ride dirt bikes and have fun.”
Van Beveren helped Brabec with navigation while fighting with another teammate, Skyler Howes, the entire day for the stage win.
Howes prevailed by 21 seconds for his first career major stage in his eighth Dakar. He was third in 2023 and sixth last year. He's running fifth, 34 minutes off the pace.
Benavides was fourth in the stage and believed the race will be decided on the final 105-kilometer sprint on Saturday.
“I played no strategy like Ricky. I don't care,” Benavides said. “I'm doing what I can to control what I can control.”
Ekström won his third car stage of this Dakar, a special so fast that 12 other drivers were within 10 minutes.
Ford achieved another 1-2-3 stage. Romain Dumas, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, was a career-best second just over a minute back and Carlos Sainz was third.
Only Toyota's Henk Lategan beat Ekström to a checkpoint but Lategan's podium hopes were wrecked after 140 kilometers when a bearing broke on his rear left wheel. Lategan was second last year and second overall overnight but he plunged out of the top 15, at least.
Loeb moved up to third overall, 10 minutes behind Roma and three minutes ahead of Ekström.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Daniel Sanders competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Skyler Howes competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Henk Lategan, left, and co-driver Brett Cummings repair their car during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
