Lawrence Timmons grew up in Florence, S.C., but he has family members in Miami who are Dolphins fans. So he was not surprised when he received a text message on his cell phone from them after Monday night's game.

But he was surprised by the message.

U mssd up r rcky wllms.

"They really like Ricky Williams," Timmons said. "I even like Ricky Williams. When I was in high school, I used to pretend to be him."

Timmons, a rookie linebacker and the Steelers' No. 1 draft choice, did not know what his relatives were referring to in their text message. But he quickly discovered.

Williams, who was playing in his first game after being reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, tore his right pectoral muscle against the Steelers and will not play the remainder of the season. Williams was injured when Timmons stepped on his back trying to recover a fumble by Williams in the second quarter.

"They said, 'You messed up our Ricky Williams,' and I didn't know what they were talking about," Timmons said. "They said, 'You didn't have to put him out for the season like that,' and I was like, what? I didn't know I stepped on him. I was looking at the ball the whole time. I didn't even feel it.

"I just had my eye on the ball."

Timmons recovered the fumble, but only after accidentally stepping on Williams' back when the Dolphins running back was prone on the ground, his right arm extended in attempt to recover his fumble.

Before his injury, Williams had six carries for 15 yards in his first NFL game since being suspended in 2005 for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He had surgery Thursday to repair the pectoral muscle.

Timmons was criticized on talk shows in Miami for deliberately stepping on Williams, a charge he vehemently denies. However, according to the Miami Herald, the Dolphins reviewed film of the incident and believe it was an accident.

"I would never do anything like that," Timmons said. "I'm not that kind of player. I have too much respect for Ricky Williams or any player to do that."

It was more notoriety than Timmons anticipated against the Dolphins, a game in which he was used in the team's dime defensive package as a replacement for injured Troy Polamalu.

Because Polamalu plays near the line of scrimmage and acts more like a linebacker in that package, the Steelers wanted to replace him with a linebacker who can run. Timmons and inside linebacker Larry Foote split the duty.

Timmons will get to repeat the role tomorrow against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-7) because Polamalu is expected to miss his second game in a row with a sprained knee.

"He has coverage ability and he has blitzing ability," said linebackers coach Keith Butler. "We feel he fits that role well because he has both."

Using Timmons in that package is a sign he is assimilating the intricacies of the team's defensive schemes and an indication of the confidence the coaches have in his development.

Butler only wishes Timmons didn't miss so much time in training camp because of a groin injury.

"He's come a long way," Butler said. "It's a shame we didn't have him earlier when a lot of the learning is going on. But he's done a good job to pick it up."

Said Timmons: "It's something for them to put me in there like that. It was nice. I got time to be on the field during the core part of the game. It was a great experience for me, a great experience to learn for me."

Even if he did disappoint his relatives and end Ricky Williams' season.