Lawrence Timmons appeared in 120 straight games with the Steelers before signing with the Dolphins in the offseason. But the linebacker went missing on Saturday, a day before Miami faced the Los Angeles Chargers, and missed his first start with his new team.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Timmons was dealing with "a personal matter" Saturday and will meet with doctors Monday "to determine [the] issue."
Schefter added:
The Dolphins are unsure what the issue is though one source tells Schefter that they do not think it is CTE-related. "No one has ever seen anything like it," the source said.
Timmons wasn't at the team's hotel as recently as Sunday morning, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has reported, though he had practiced with the team all week in California ahead of Sunday's game. The Dolphins had left South Florida to avoid Hurricane Irma.
Asked about the situation after the Dolphins beat the Chargers, coach Adam Gase would only say, "I need to figure some things out before I talk about this."
In the days leading up to the game, the Dolphins didn't get any indication that something might be amiss with Timmons. The linebacker had been with the team over the past week as the Dolphins practiced in Los Angeles. The team spent the week in L.A. after being displaced due to Hurricane Irma.
Timmons was Mike Tomlin's first draft pick in Pittsburgh, the Steelers' 2007 first-round pick. He signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Dolphins in March.