Timmons apologizes teammates
To fans, Gase: LB could make Dolphins debut against Saints.
DAVIE — An apologetic but tightlipped Lawre nce Timm o ns returned to the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday.
“I just want to say sorry to all the fans, the Miami Dolphins, to everyone,” Timmons, a veteran linebacker, said in his first public comments since going AWOL before the Sept. 17 season opener. “Just happy to be back here. Sorry to the organization. I’m just happy to be a Miami Dolphin again. I just want to play football and be the best I can.”
Timmons fielded several more Dolphins vs. Saints,
9:30 a.m. in London, TV: Fox
questions over the next three minutes but repeated a version of “I’m just happy to be back here” to each. The questions ranged from what he told teammates to whether he attended a recent practice of his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to what he believes he might be able to contribute Sunday when
the Dolphins play the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium. Coach Adam Gase, likewise, shed little light on the story, saying he preferred to keep everything private.
“That’s something I’m just keeping in-house right now,” Gase said. “We just worked through a couple of things. L.T. handled the business he needed to handle, and I’m glad he’s back.”
Gase said it’s a “possibility” Timmons could make his Dolphins debut Sunday.
Timmons disappeared the night before the Dolphins opened the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in California. The organization became so concerned it filed a missing person report with police, who quickly found Timmons at the Los Angeles airport waiting for aflight to Pennsylvania. The team indefinitely suspended Timmons, who obviously did enough in the interim to convince Gase there won’t be any further problems.
After practicing with Timmons on Wednesday afternoon, Dolphins players said they welcomed him back.
“He looked fresh, actually,” cornerback Byron Maxwell said.
Asked whether the team feels “complete” with a starting linebacker having returned, quarterback Jay Cutler said, “Yeah, I guess so. He’s well-liked in the locker room, so guys are happy to see him back there.”
Timmons apparently had not addressed the team as a whole as of mid-afternoon.
“He just showed up,” Maxwell said. “You know, Lawrence Timmons is back. We’re good. There you go. I didn’t ask any questions. It’s not my job to ask questions. Just show up on game day and I’m ready to go.”
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said the day was like any other.
“It just went back to normal business,” Suh said. “I don’t think there’s neces- sarily an apology needed, in my personal opinion. Like I said, we just expect for him to continue to play hard and practice hard like he does. He was out there flying around like he normally is, making plays and being a big part of this defense.”
Moving forward, Cutler said, “He’s just got to come back in and do his job. It’s not hard. I think Adam said it a couple of weeks ago — there’s not a lot of rules here. Play hard. Be on time. He knows that, and he’s going to come in and do everything we ask him to do.”
Gase wouldn’t say if or how Timmons assured him he won’t disappear again. If it should happen again, Cutler said, “It’s going to be dealt with. I don’t think it’s anything we’re going to worry about or concern ourselves with. He’s back, we’re happy to have him back and I think we’re just expecting him to fall in line like everybody else.”