De'Von Achane landed in the NFL's concussion protocol after a hit to the head early in the Miami Dolphins' Week 5 win against the New England Patriots, but head coach Mike McDaniel spoke optimistically about the running back getting cleared sooner rather than later.

"The last protocol piece is based upon activity that he should be doing," McDaniel said Wednesday. "Hopefully he'll get some clarity on that, but we feel good where he's at, for sure."

Players who land in the protocol have to clear a five-step process before they're able to return to action. As McDaniel said, Achane can't clear the last portion of the process until he returns to practice and both an independent neurological consultant and the team's physician agree that the activity caused no adverse affects.

It seems, based on McDaniel's comments, that Achane is near the end of the protocol process and could be cleared to play in the Dolphins' Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Achane, 23, began the 2024 season with 265 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns through the Dolphins' first two games. However, he recorded only 104 yards in the next three games and averaged just 2.6 yards per carry.

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This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: De'Von Achane making progress through concussion protocol