The Miami Dolphins‘ victory on Sunday was slightly dampened by the fact that starting outside linebacker Lawrence Timmons was not on the field. On Saturday, the talented veteran reportedly left the team without notice, and while he returned on Sunday, head coach Adam Gase ruled Timmons as inactive for the game.
Following the victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, Gase said that he had decided not to play Timmons in Sunday’s matchup.
“I need to figure some things out before I talk about this,” he said.
On Monday, it was reported by TMZ that the team had filed a missing persons report with local police, who later found Timmons at Los Angeles International Airport.
“The good news … cops found Timmons at LAX early Sunday morning in a boarding area in an effort to get to Pennsylvania. A team rep met Timmons at the airport and left with him,” TMZ wrote.
TMZ also revealed the apparent reason for Timmons’ departure from the team.
“So, why Pennsylvania? We’re told Timmons had spoken with his baby mama who lives there and had told her he missed the baby and wanted to visit,” TMZ wrote. “He was serious about visiting her.”
It now appears the former Pro Bowler is ready to rejoin the Dolphins as soon as possible. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Timmons is scheduled to meet with doctors before the team decides the next step.
“One source said Timmons is ‘doing much better [Monday] and wants to resume playing immediately’ with the hope that he will practice this week. But first come the doctor visits,” Schefter wrote.
Schefter added that the question of early onset Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) had been raised, but that it is not believed to be the cause for Timmons’ erratic behavior.
“The Dolphins are unsure what the issue is with Timmons, but one league source said he does not believe it is the early onset of CTE,” he wrote. “‘No one has ever seen anything like it,'” one source said.”
Clearly, there is much taking place behind closed doors that may never be fully revealed. While the mention of early onset CTE is disturbing, it is promising to see that Timmons is ready to rejoin his teammates. If the doctors give him a clean bill of health, and if Gase deems him ready, Timmons should be back on the field soon.
