The Dolphins have announced the death of Manny Fernandez at the age of 79.
Fernandez signed with the Dolphins — who were then an AFL team — after going undrafted in 1968 and played his entire career with the team before retiring after the 1975 season. Fernandez’s run included three trips to the Super Bowl and back-to-back championships after the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
Fernandez had sacks in each of those Super Bowl wins and is unofficially credited — the NFL did not officially record sacks until 1982 — with 35 regular season sacks and 4.5 playoff sacks for his career.
The Dolphins became the first and only NFL team to go undefeated for an entire season in 1972. That entire team was inducted into the Dolphins’ Honor Roll and Fernandez was also inducted individually in 2014.
The Dolphins have many key new pieces. And they want the new centerpiece of their offense to not worry, for now, about the leadership aspect of playing quarterback.
“My main focus for him right now is to learn the scheme, get to know the players and not overdo the whole leadership thing,” coach Jeff Hafley said recently, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “I mean, I think that’s my job and [the coaches’] job right now, so he can focus on becoming the best quarterback and the best player and the best teammate he can be.”
Willis, a four-year veteran with six career starts, is fine with that approach.
“It’s about building trust,” Willis said. “I mean, every play we go out there, whether it’s calling the play, whether it’s executing the play, whether it’s making sure somebody else can get lined up, you build that over time. I don’t think you just put somebody in a position to say, ‘OK, you’re the leader now.’ You got to earn that.”
Willis is right. Leadership is the byproduct of performance. As Willis proves himself on the field, other players will follow him.
For now, he’s the new guy. The replacement for Tua Tagovailoa. And Willis hasn’t done enough elsewhere to walk through the door and take the bull by the blowhole.
If things go the way the Dolphins hope, Willis will become a leader. That will mean he’s getting it done in practices and, more importantly, during games.
The Dolphins announced a handful of roster moves on Thursday.
They have signed offensive lineman Marques Cox and running back Carlos Washington Jr. to their 90-man roster. They waived tight end Jalin Conyers and offensive lineman Braeden Daniels in corresponding moves.
Cox spent time on practice squads in Arizona and Denver last season. He started 59 games at Northern Illinois and Kentucky with most of his playing time coming at left tackle.
Washington spent the last couple of seasons with the Falcons and played in two games. He saw all of his playing time on special teams in those appearances.
Dolphins running back De’Von Achane has gotten his long-term deal. We’ve gotten our hands on the terms.
Per a league source, here are the full details of the new Achane contract:
1. Signing bonus: $4.233 million.
2. 2026 base salary: $1.145 million.
3. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $500,000, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
4. 2027 base salary: $10.5 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2027 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
6. 2028 workout bonus: $200,000.
7. 2028 base salary: $14.225 million, $10 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing. Of that amount, $3 million becomes fully guaranteed in March 2027. The remaining $7 million becomes fully guaranteed in March 2028.
8. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total.
9. 2029 workout bonus: $200,000.
10. 2029 base salary: $14.225 million.
11. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total.
12. 2030 workout bonus: $200,000.
13. 2030 base salary: $15.717 million.
14. 2030 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total.
The deal includes $1 million in incentives from 2027 through 2030.
The four-year extension has a base value of $64 million, giving it an average of $16 million per year. The maximum value is $68 million.
The deal has $17.378 million fully guaranteed at signing, with another $3 million vesting in March 2027 and the final $7 million vesting in 2028.
Coupled with his existing 2026 compensation of $5.767 million, Achane will make $69.767 million over five years, for an average of $13.95 million annually from the time of signing.
The NFL’s current political issues include an effort by Florida attorney general James Uthmeier to challenge the league’s diversity initiatives. Most recently, Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL, along with a letter suggesting that the league’s response to his initial communication may have violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by revising “many references” on its public website to its allegedly “unlawful ‘inclusive hiring’ policies.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell was in Florida on Tuesday, for the most recent ownership meeting. During a press conference conducted at the conclusion of the sessions, Goodell was asked about Uthmeier’s ongoing assault on the league.
“I think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better, but also to make sure that they’re consistent with the law,” Goodell said, via the Associated Press. “We’re engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to. We’ll share everything we’re doing with them. We think it’s certainly within the law, but also something very positive.”
The best evidence, frankly, would be to point to the teams’ hiring practices regarding coaches and General Managers. Despite efforts to expand the interview pool to include diverse candidates, the ultimate decisions — made exclusively by the teams and not the league — do not represent the demographics of the player population.
Uthmeier, who is running for election in 2026 to the job for which he received a gubernatorial appointment, may be engaging in performative antics. Time will tell whether his letter-writing campaign and request for information becomes something more than that.
