The Miami Dolphins announced Tuesday that they have suspended linebacker Lawrence Timmons indefinitely.
We have suspended linebacker Lawrence Timmons indefinitely.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 19, 2017
Timmons was inactive for Sunday’s road game against the Los Angeles Chargers after going AWOL from the team on Saturday. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Timmons wanted to resume playing immediately and practice this week after meeting with doctors, but evidently that won’t be happening.
Timmons was nowhere to be found Saturday night when the team checked to make sure players were in their rooms, according to TMZ Sports. The Dolphins reportedly filed a missing persons report with police, after which the 31-year-old was discovered at LAX early Sunday morning trying to board a flight to Pennsylvania, where his baby’s mother lives.
This whole situation is bizarre, but one league source told Schefter that he does not believe it’s the early onset of CTE. Dolphins head coach Adam Gase wouldn’t go into detail about the matter after Sunday’s game, saying only that Timmons being inactive was due to a coach’s decision, and he also declined to discuss the veteran linebacker’s future Monday while speaking with the media.
Timmons, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Dolphins in March. He figured to be one of Miami’s starting outside linebackers.
After Timmons went missing on Saturday, his time playing for Adam Gase was in doubt. The suspension likely voids his $4.5M in '18 guarantees
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 19, 2017
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images