The unusual incident involving Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons finally took a predictable turn Tuesday when the team announced that it had suspended Timmons indefinitely. The Dolphins didn't offer any further comment.
Timmons, signed by the Dolphins in the offseason after he spent the first decade of his career with the Steelers, was set to be a member of the team's starting defense. But those plans changed when he went missing in Los Angeles the day before the Dolphins' season opener against the Chargers.
Our John Breech explained what happened next:
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins actually filed a missing persons report with several police departments in the Los Angeles area. After hours of trying to hunt Timmons down, police in the area finally located the Dolphins linebacker on Sunday morning, according to TMZ.
So where was Timmons?
The 31-year-old was at LAX with plans to leave California. TMZ has reported that Timmons was trying to get to Pennsylvania because he had "spoken with his baby mama who lives there and had told her he missed the baby and wanted to visit."
Timmons eventually got on the flight to Pennsylvania, and a Dolphins team representative went with him.
After Jay Cutler led the Dolphins to a 19-17 win without Timmons, coach Adam Gase refused to say much of anything about the situation.
"I'm not saying anything right now," Gase said in his postgame press conference, via Pro Football Talk. "I need to figure some things out first before I talk about this."
He didn't add anything on Monday either.
"Nothing to add, for what I have right now," Gase said, per the Miami Herald. "Really just gathering a lot of information. I've got a few other things I have to deal with the guys who played yesterday."
Don't expect Gase to open up about whatever it is that transpired over the weekend. According to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, Gase is trying to prevent the details from becoming public.
On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Timmons is "doing much better [Monday] and wants to resume playing immediately." Timmons, however, won't be able to do that while he's suspended. So, what happens next?
The good news for the Dolphins is that they're scheduled to take on the Jets on Sunday. To beat the hapless Jets, the Dolphins probably won't need Timmons on the field. But the Dolphins will need Timmons at some point. Mike Hull started in his place and even though he racked up 10 combined tackles, he was the Dolphins' third-worst graded defender, according to Pro Football Focus.
Later on Tuesday, the Dolphins sent the Saints an undisclosed draft pick in exchange for linebacker Stephone Anthony.
Anthony is a former first-round pick but has struggled since entering the NFL in 2015. After all, there has to be a reason why the Saints -- a team that's been awful on defense for a while now -- are trading away a former first-round pick who plays defense. In 26 career games, he's recorded 82 tackles, one sack, and one interception.