The Miami Dolphins’ 2024 season was disappointing for sure, but it most definitely wasn’t boring.
Between off-the-field incidents, some bizarre situations involving big-name veterans and an opening-day scene straight out of a movie, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill NFL season.
So then, here it is, our list of the 10 biggest Dolphins stories of 2024:
This is a pretty easy choice, no? And any quarterback missing six games with injuries would be the top story for most teams, but it’s especially so when that quarterback has the kind of injury history (particuarly with concussions) that Tua Tagovailoa. This actually was a three-part story with the concussion against Buffalo, his impressive return against the Arizona Cardinals, and then the hip injury that cost him the final two games of the 2024 season.
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Making the Tua story even bigger was how much the offense struggled without him in the lineup from Week 3-7, and it sure didn’t help that the Dolphins went through three other quarterbacks during that span between Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley.
Sure, this was a massively overblown story because expectations all along should have been modest for Beckham based on his previous few seasons. But he’s a big-name player who once was among the best in the NFL at his position, and star power sells. Maybe the biggest part of this story, other than Beckham being waived at his request, was GM Chris Grier admitting the Dolphins knew that Beckham might not be ready for the start of the regular season after undergoing a knee procedure in the offseason.
Calais Campbell’s performance at the age of 37 alone was worthy of constant attention, but the drama surrounding the NFL trade deadline added an interesting twist. Campbell made no secret of the fact he still played in 2024 because he’s looking for a ring and the Dolphins were ready to trade at the deadline when they were 2-6 until Mike McDaniel insisted he be kept because he was confident a turnaround was on the horizon and Campbell would be needed. In the end, the Dolphins did turn things around, just not enough for them to get into the playoffs and keeping Campbell until the end cost him his chance at chasing a ring in the playoffs.
Beckham was one of the four players who began the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list and once the four — Bradley Chubb, Isaiah Wynn and Cameron Goode were the others — were eligible to return, this became a weekly watch as to when each would return to practice. In the end, all made their way back to the 53-man roster except for Chubb.
What happened with Tyreek Hill being detained by police for speeding outside of Hard Rock Stadium and thrown to the ground, and then handcuffed being placed on Campbell for stopping to see how he could help always will rank as one of the wildest game-day incidents in Dolphins history.
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For all the talk of the Dolphins not making their players more accountable, the team sure didn’t play games with linebacker David Long Jr. After he was voted a team captain at the start of his second season with the team, the veteran first was demoted in favor of Anthony Walker Jr. and later waive when the Dolphins claimed fellow linebacker Tyrel Dodson. It was quite the fall from grace.
Injuries are a part of the NFL, but the Dolphins caught a really, really bad break during the week of Tagovailoa’s return when team MVP Zach Sieler caught a finger in the eye and caused an injury serious enough that he was forced to miss two games. Perhaps not coincidentally, the defense didn’t hold up its end in either of those two games against Arizona and the Buffalo Bills and the Dolphins lost despite strong efforts by Tagovailoa and the offense.
Yeah, that Shaq Barrett saga was something. He pretty much was forgotten by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, everyone now OK with the idea he had decided to abruptly retire before the start of training camp after signing with the Dolphins in the offseason. But then Barrett decided he indeed wanted to resume playing, with the Dolphins forced to make a quick decision on whether they activate him, keep him on the Retired list or waive him so he could sign with another team. The Dolphins choose a combination of B and C, making him a bit before waiving him (with a non-injury settlement likely involving some reimbursement of his signing bonus money).
For the last story, we bypassed the bizarre Blake Ferguson saga that ended with him sidelined for the final 12 games after his coaches kept telling the media the long-snapper likely would return at some point in favor of the sad story of Jaelan Phillips seeing his hard work to come back from an Achilles tendon injury go to waste with an unfortunate misstep in the Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans that resulted in a torn ACL.
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.
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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.
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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.
