Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.
MIAMI GARDENS — For the past three seasons, backup quarterback for the Miami Dolphins has been a more high-profile job than it is for most teams.
Not just because of the games starter Tua Tagovailoa has missed — 11 combined in 2022 and 2024 — but because of the drastic drop in production from an otherwise explosive offense whenever Tagovailoa is not on the field.
To help mitigate the difference, Miami signed a quarterback it hopes can keep its offense running if Tagovailoa is forced to miss time this season — former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson.
Wilson’s career production has fallen well-short of his draft position. He has passed for 6,293 yards and 23 touchdowns against 25 interceptions in 34 career games with the New York Jets. He was traded to the Denver Broncos and spent the 2024 season as rookie Bo Nix’s backup.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said the team made this move based on the physical traits he has seen from Wilson dating to his time at BYU.
“I think it’s layered. This was something that was on our mind for a considerable amount of time and it goes back to everybody has a different circumstance, but we drafted a quarterback in San Francisco the year he came out,” McDaniel said. “I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and he was a phenomenal talent that in my opinion didn’t have reps in an NFL pocket yet. Like at BYU he was launching it from about 10 and 11 yards deep and you’re not in the phone booth, and so my estimation, there was going to be some nuanced growth to his game that I think it is close to impossible to excel that early in that new form of football that he was playing (in the NFL).”
Tagovailoa missed a career-high six games in 2024 with a concussion and a hip injury. From Week 3 through 7, Miami’s offense ranked 31st in expected points added, dead last in quarterback rating and scoring, and 29th in yards per game. The Dolphins’ offense didn’t take off upon Tagovailoa’s return but was a far more efficient seventh in EPA and ninth in scoring during his healthiest stretch from Week 8 to Week 16. Tagovailoa ranked ninth in the NFL in touchdown to interception ratio during that span and led the league in completion percentage.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier received criticism for not having a better backup plan in place considering Tagovailoa’s injury history, despite the fact he’d played all 18 games in 2023. Former seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson was the primary backup entering the season, having beaten out Mike White for the job during training camp. But Thompson played poorly in his lone start of the season, a 30-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He was knocked out of that game with a rib injury, leaving Tim Boyle and a newly signed Tyler Huntley as Miami’s only viable options at quarterback.
After the season, Grier said the team held an affinity for the homegrown Thompson, who won a playoff-clinching game as a rookie in 2022 and lost a close playoff game to the Buffalo Bills on the road a week later. But he also admitted the Dolphins had tried to address the position last offseason.
“We were in on a number of top-flight backup quarterbacks in the league,” Grier said. “We were runners-up for a couple of them that we wanted to get here, and for some financial restraints and compensatory pick stuff, we just couldn’t go to those, to the prices. But all of those guys wanted to come here.
“It’s a position we do not take lightly. We were working through that the entire offseason, and the fact that some of those guys were willing to come here at what we could pay them shows in how they believe in Mike, the staff and the offensive scheme, and the players that are here.”
The Dolphins own 10 picks in this month’s draft and despite myriad other roster holes, the team is still interested in taking a quarterback if the right opportunity presents itself. Grier said as much.
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“That’s a position we will always focus on, and it will be a position that we will focus on this offseason,” he said.
During the first week of free agency last month, Miami agreed to a one-year deal with Wilson to become its new primary backup — assuming he beats out anyone the team might draft. His salary makes him the fifth highest-paid backup quarterback in the league. Last season, Thompson was the 48th highest-paid non-starting quarterback in the NFL.
When asked what interested him in the job, Wilson didn’t mention the potential to play, but instead focused on Tagovailoa’s development and his admiration for Miami’s offensive coaching staff.
“What’s not to like, right? Extremely explosive offense and I think they do a great job, and it starts from coach McDaniel and goes all the way down,” Wilson said. “I’d just say the offensive staff as a whole has done a great job. You’ve seen how Tua’s development has gone, too, since he’s been there, and I think I’m just excited to be with those guys.”
Wilson said his experience as a backup in 2024 helped him with his processing and pocket awareness, and that his understanding of the game has improved over the past year.
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McDaniel said Wilson was a “direct calculated target” for Miami in free agency, over players with more NFL experience. But one of McDaniel’s mantras is “adversity is opportunity,” and he admires the adversity Wilson has faced in his young NFL career.
“What I see in Zach is the experience of being the second pick in the draft, being the starter Week 1 and then not fulfilling the rookie contract; that is behind him,” McDaniel said. “So to me, that’s an exciting prospect because you can’t put a measurement on that human ability that is huge at the quarterback position. Not comparing the players at all — on the record, not comparing the players — Tua found that this environment helped him through that process. As coaches, we want to offer literally everything to his game and I’m excited about where he’s at based upon him.”
The curtain is coming down on Hard Rock Cafe’s Bayside Marketplace location after more than three decades on the downtown waterfront.
The rock ’n’ roll themed restaurant will close its doors August 19 after its lease with the city came to an end and will not be renewed, the Hard Rock confirmed in an email to The Real Deal. A spokesperson for the Hard Rock did not immediately respond to why the lease was not renewed or disclose the square footage and seating capacity.
A spokesperson for the City of Miami-owned Bayside Marketplace said the space will be redeveloped for another concept. The next tenant was not disclosed.
New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation holds the ground lease for Bayside Marketplace. A representative for Ashkenazy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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In 2020, Ashkenazy filed an eviction lawsuit against the Hard Rock Cafe alleging over $300,000 in unpaid rent amid the pandemic. The case was dismissed with prejudice in 2022, court records show.
At the time, the lease required the restaurant to pay $500,000 in base rent annually plus a percentage of its sales, according to court records.
More than 100 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, according to a WARN notice filed by the Hard Rock Cafe. The stand alone waterfront building includes a main dining room, mezzanine, patio areas and event spaces.
Founded in 1971, Hard Rock Cafe opened its Miami location in 1993. The restaurant is part of Hard Rock International, which has been owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida since its 2007 acquisition of the company and operates cafes, hotels, casinos and live entertainment venues worldwide, plus naming rights for the Miami Dolphins’ home stadium.
Bayside Marketplace was one of the hardest hit retail centers in South Florida during the pandemic. The Hooters there closed in 2021 and was taken over by sports bar Black Market Miami, the Miami Herald previously reported. Other retailers and restaurants that have closed include Sun & Sea Brazilian Bikinis, Bavaria Haus and Express, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2024.
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The waterfront retail and restaurant hub is heavily reliant on tourists. Margaritaville opened there in 2024, and popular fast-casual Mexican chain Coyo Taco opened this month. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Chili’s, Foot Locker and Victoria’s Secret are longtime tenants.
Downtown Miami’s retail market is showing signs of softening, according to Colliers. Retailers in the downtown submarket shed 44,430 square feet of space, and vacancy reached 6.3 percent. Developers remain bullish on the downtown core, with nearly 64,000 square feet of retail space under construction and asking rents averaging $52.50 per square foot.
The Miami Worldcenter has been a major recent driver of much of that retail development and leasing.
Total inventory square footage for the downtown area is more than 3.4 million square feet.
Read more
Bayside Marketplace sues to evict Bubba Gump, Hard Rock Cafe and three other tenants
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Take a look at the new Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami
SkyRise Miami developer settles lawsuit with theme park company over $1M refund
Bayside Marketplace is planning another high-rise entertainment venue with a view
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A man is facing new charges connected to the fatal shooting of a teenager in 2019.
Warren Pollock, 25, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Rodney Hinds Jr.
According to police, surveillance video captured Pollock shooting into a car parked at the Shell gas station on the corner of Northwest 183rd Street and Eighth Avenue back on Saturday, October 26 of 2019 just before 1 a.m.
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Authorities said new evidence led detectives to Pollock, who was already in custody for an unrelated murder case.
He remains behind bars at the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail on no bond.
🏠 News From Your Neighborhood
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
David Dwork
David Dwork joined the WPLG Local 10 News team in August 2019. Born and raised in Miami-Dade County, David has covered South Florida sports since 2007.
It was the blockbuster deal of the NBA offseason: After years of will-he/won’t-he, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to Miami.
It also feels like the first domino of what will be some other big moves — including possibly a Jaylen Brown bidding war and trade. At NBC, we’ve explained the Antetokounmpo trade, named its winners and losers, and broken down how it will impact fantasy teams. Still, the fallout from this trade just keeps coming. Here are some other notes and analysis surrounding Antetokounmpo’s move to Miami.
Jaylen Brown bidding war?
Boston tried to say, “We weren’t shopping Brown, it was only because this was Giannis Antetokounmpo.” Except a few years back, they said the same thing when Brown was rumored to be part of a trade offer for Kevin Durant. From Brown’s perspective, you don’t want to be the person in the relationship where your partner is always looking around for an upgrade.
Other teams are expecting Boston to make Brown available, and there could be a bidding war, something articulated well by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the network’s “Get Up.”
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“What I expect to happenis a bidding war for Jaylen Brown. In the most recent days, teams have been preparing for this eventuality, that it wouldn’t be the Boston Celtics who won the Giannis sweepstakes and that there would be a Jaylen Brown market. And now we’re going to watch that. I think it’ll take time to play out.”
If Brown becomes available, look for Houston and Atlanta to be at the front of the line for him, with a number of other teams — Portland has said it’s interested — in the mix. The challenge will be matching his salary, which is $57.1 million next season and totals about $183 million over the next three years. Brown is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
Boston kept young players out
Why did Milwaukee ultimately choose the Miami offer over Boston? In part because, while Brown would have been the best individual player the Bucks could have gotten in return, they wanted more — specifically a young player like Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez, and Boston would not put them in the offer, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Boston’s final offer was Brown and two unprotected first-round picks. Milwaukee preferred Miami’s offer… or at least one key person did.
Bucks co-owner Haslam pushed for Miami trade
Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam also owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns — a team that dealt with a trade demand from future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett. Then came the Antetokounmpo saga with the Bucks.
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That led Haslam to push for the “certainty” of the Miami offer because he didn’t want to see Brown come to Milwaukee and force his way out in a couple of years, something Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports reported right after the trade went down.
Report: Haslam a ‘driving force’ in Giannis trade
Mike Florio looks at Jimmy Haslam’s reported role in the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade and analyzes Haslam’s involvement as owner of the Cleveland Browns.
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That was a concern of others in the Milwaukee front office, reports Sam Amick and Eric Nehm at The Athletic, who add there had been signs in recent weeks that Brown didn’t really want to land in Milwaukee.
Herro happy
Brown may not have wanted to go to Milwaukee, but Tyler Herro — who is a Milwaukee native — is excited to go home in the trade, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Sources: Tyler Herro is thrilled about a fresh start and playing for his hometown team the Milwaukee Bucks. Herro always envisioned returning home at some point during his NBA career.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 23, 2026
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Except Herro may not be staying in Milwaukee—there are multiple reports that the Bucks are listening to offers to trade him again. At the front of that line may be Detroit, which is looking for shooting and secondary ball-handling to pair with Cade Cunningham, and Herro fits that bill.
Is Anthony Edwards next?
Once one superstar is traded, the insatiable NBA trade rumor machine starts looking for the next star who might be on the move.
Is it about to be Anthony Edwards’ turn in the spotlight? ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on the latest Hoop Collective Podcast, “The NBA vultures are swirling around Ant in anticipation of him potentially becoming the next superstar who’s available in the trade market.” Multiple reports in recent years have said Edwards has been frustrated with the team building in Minnesota, dating back to when it traded away Karl-Anthony Towns to save money.
This is not happening fast. Minnesota has no intention of trading Edwards right now, and he still has three fully guaranteed years at $156.9 million left on this contract. There is no pressure to move him, and Edwards would deny he is even thinking about leaving.
That said, teams file these kinds of things away and just wait.
