Beckham, Campbell on Opposite Ends of Nasty Dolphins Trend

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. failed in his attempt to close out his career in style in Miami, but the opposite holds for defensive lineman Calais Campbell

New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) breaks up a pass to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

There's a pretty long list of high-profile players or former first-round picks who went looking for a last hurrah with the Miami Dolphins, and the results often haven't been good.

The latest example came Friday morning when the team officially waived wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after a report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero indicated this was a mutual decision.

Beckham now will be subject to waivers, where any team claiming him would owe him a modest $202,000 for the rest of the 2024 season (per Spotrac). If he goes unclaimed, Beckham would be free to sign with any other team.

Given his lack of production — nine catches for 55 yards in nine games — on a team that still lacks a good third wide receiver option and the simple fact Beckham didn't show much explosiveness during his stint with the Dolphins, there's no guarantee that any team will pick him up.

This seemed like a doomed experiment from the start, with Beckham sitting out all of training camp and the start of the regular season while he recovered from offseason knee surgery.

The Beckham experiment, for lack of a better term, was a failure for the Dolphins, the one consolation being that they didn't sign him to a huge contract.

On the flip side, signing Calais Campbell for what could be his last season has proven to be a major hit.

At 38 years old, this very possibly could be his last season in the NFL, and if it is, the former University of Miami standout sure is going out in style.

While the Dolphins overall have had a fairly disappointing season, Campbell has been a star. It's not a stretch even to say he's been one of the best players on the team, the latest example coming when his penetration into the New York Jets backfield led to the two big stops for losses that allowed the Dolphins enough time to come back for a game-tying field goal and eventually the victory in overtime.

According to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, Campbell has the second-best player on the Dolphins roster this season with an 82.1 grade, trailing only tackle Terron Armstead. Campbell ranks seventh among all NFL interior defensive linemen.

That he plays this well at this age is a testament to Campbell, who likely will become a Pro Football Hall of Famer after his career ends.

His signing to a team-friendly contract has also been one of the team's best moves of the offseason.

VETERANS WHO LIMPED TO THE FINISH LINE WITH THE DOLPHINS

Beckham, though, is way more the norm than Campbell for big-name veterans who ended their careers with the Dolphins because we've seen our share of forgettable stints, whether because of injury or poor performance.

That list would include Thurman Thomas, Cris Carter, Mario Williams, Arian Foster, Will Fuller, Josh Sitton, and Jay Cutler — and we're probably forgetting a few.

We could add Shaq Barrett and his bizarre saga to the list after he signed a one-year contract in March, retired in July, then looked to unretire two weeks ago only to have the Dolphins tell him thanks, but no thanks.