David Long Jr. is heading into his second season with the Miami Dolphins with a new defensive coordinator but the same mentality.
The 5-foot-11 linebacker has always seen himself as an underdog since he was taken in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Now, the former West Virginia Mountaineer is a contract year.
“[The motivation] is the same,” Long said this week during a Zoom media session. “It hasn’t dropped off, it hasn’t gotten better. It’s the same. But I don’t look at it as that. Over the years I’ve grown … so I don’t really worry too much. I come to work every day.”
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Long wears a tattoo on his neck that he considers his motto.
“‘Que sera, sera’ … It means, ‘what will be, will be,’” Long said. “That’s what I believe in, so that’s how I attack every day.”
Long will go into the 2024 season attacking every day with his new defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver. Weaver was hired in February from the Baltimore Ravens.
Last season, Weaver helped lead a Ravens defense that reached the top of the league in scoring defense with 16.5 points allowed per game.
It is still early, but Long likes where the team currently is.
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“We’re on like, phase (two of the offseason program],” Long said. “But right now, everybody is clicking, I would say, and it starts off the field as well. How tight is the team, how good can we communicate, and how fast we can take the classroom to the field. Everyday it’s getting better, and I’m sure it will continuously get better throughout the OTAs, phase three and going into minicamp.”
As Long enters his contract year, he is confident in the changes around him — including whoever winds up replacing his linebacker partner after the departure of Jerome Baker, which is expected to be Jordyn Brooks.
“Of course I had a lot of fun playing with [Baker], but the good thing about the league is there is a lot of good guys in the league,” Long said. “I feel like [Jordyn Brooks] came in, [Anthony Walker] came in and fit right in … As far as play style, [we] haven’t gotten the pads on yet, but as far as how we fit into the defense it’s feeling good right now. Everybody is clicking and learning every day.”
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
Jack and Jill of America’s Miami chapter closed out Black History Month with an inaugural “Roots Across Waters” trip to Nassau, where families explored ancestral sites, honored the Bahamian labor that helped build early Miami, and donated Afro‑Caribbean children’s books to local students.
