Miami Dolphins David Long Jr. Approaching New Season with Same Mentality

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.”

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.

“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.”