Miami Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons was listed as inactive for the NFL team’s season opener on Sunday after he unexpectedly left one day before the game.
The Dolphins got back in contact with Timmons after he went missing from the team’s hotel in Los Angeles, but the veteran player wasn’t at their 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Instead, Timmons abruptly left after a likely personal issue ‘angered’ him, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote on Twitter. He was ‘not arrested’ nor did he ‘run afoul of the law’, according to Salguero.
The move ended a streak of 120 consecutive games played by Timmons, who hasn’t missed a game since 2009.
Miami Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons (pictured, May 2017) was listed as inactive for the NFL team’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers after he mysteriously disappeared from their hotel on Saturday
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase (pictured, November 2016) declined to divulge many details, but acknowledged the linebacker wouldn’t play due to a ‘coach’s decision’
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase declined to divulge many details about Timmons’s situation after the game, although he acknowledged the linebacker wouldn’t play due to a ‘coach’s decision’.
‘I need to figure some things out before I talk about this,’ Gase told reporters.
Undrafted rookie free agent Chase Allen started in Timmons’s place, making three tackles. The defense yielded 367 yards, but just 71 in the fourth quarter while shutting out the Chargers.
Miami had just four linebackers for the Week 2 game out of a typical seven.
Timmons was expected to start for Miami this season after signing a two-year, $12million deal in March.
He spent his first 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, winning a Super Bowl ring in February 2009 and making the Pro Bowl in 2014. He recorded 677 tackles and 35.5 sacks during his career.
The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero reported that a likely personal issue ‘angered’ Timmons and caused him to leave but that he was ‘not arrested’ nor did he ‘run afoul of the law’
Timmons was expected to start for Miami this season after signing a two-year, $12million deal in March. He spent his first 10 seasons with Pittsburgh (pictured, October 2016), winning a Super Bowl ring in February 2009 and making the Pro Bowl in 2014
The Dolphins spent the previous nine days in California after leaving South Florida early to avoid Hurricane Irma. Their opener against Tampa Bay was postponed, meant to be played last week, was postponed.
‘Unfortunately, we’ve been through these things before,’ defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said of the double distractions caused by the long week in California and Timmons’s absence.
‘So we know how to react to them, how to understand them and take them in stride. We learn how to move past these things and get ready for the game.’