Dolphins suspend Lawrence Timmons indefinitely
Adam Gase showed no interest Monday in talking about the current status of Lawrence Timmons. Today, the Dolphins suspended their starting linebacker indefinitely.
It’s no secret now that the biggest surprise stemming from the Miami Dolphins first game in Los Angeles was the absence of starting linebacker Lawrence Timmons. The Dolphins, most notably Adam Gase, have remained tight-lipped since the situation occurred. Miami remains mum of the situation, but they announced today that they have suspended Timmons indefinitely.
Speculation ran rampant on Sunday and into Monday into what exactly happened. While nothing has been confirmed, it was reported that Timmons went AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) on Saturday night during bed checks. The situation was escalated to the point that the Dolphins filed a missing persons report with local police. Thankfully, Timmons was quickly found by police at the airport, waiting to board a flight to Pennsylvania to see his daughter.
The good news is that Timmons is okay, and whatever business that he has with his family is his and his alone. However, given the culture that Gase is trying to set in Miami, it’s no surprise that the team decided to suspend Timmons. Timmons made public on Monday that he’s doing better, and that he wanted to rejoin the team as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that will not be happening just yet.
Gase and the Dolphins may feel that the suspension is necessary, and rightfully so, but it doesn’t reduce the fact that this is a major blow to Miami’s linebacker unit. The Dolphins brought Timmons in primarily for his run defense, and was set to be the team’s key blitzer. While the Dolphins did a very good job against the run on Sunday, their blitz packages were not, and often put the defense in vulnerable situations.
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It is assumed that Mike Hull will continue as the starter in place of Timmons just as he did on Sunday. Hull played every defensive snap against the Chargers, leading the team in tackles. Gase and the coaching staff were very pleased with his performance.