TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Junior Seau will not be making his return to San Diego after all.
Seau was supposed to be making a homecoming to Qualcomm Stadium, but due to wildfires in the San Diego area, the Miami Dolphins and Chargers now meet Monday night at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Dolphins had traveled to San Diego on Sunday. But the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot was turned into a major evacuation center as residents from several surrounding neighborhoods were ordered out of their homes by authorities.
That forced the contest to be moved to the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
Perhaps the greatest defensive player in the Chargers' history, Seau was selected to 12 Pro Bowls in 13 seasons as an outside linebacker in San Diego.
But in March, the Chargers made the surprising decision by turning the page on the Seau era when they allowed him to speak to other teams. In April, the Dolphins acquired Seau for a conditional pick in the 2004 draft.
Seau left quite a legacy with the Chargers and is tied for first on San Diego's all-time list with 200 games, including 199 starts. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade team for the 1990s and also was named Chargers MVP each season from 1997-2001.
"The day Junior finally decides to hang up his cleats will be the day we honor him as one of the greatest, if not the greatest defensive player in our history," Chargers president Dean Spanos said. "Though his last game may not be in a Chargers uniform, to me he will always be a San Diego Charger."
In Miami, Seau has fit in at weakside linebacker on one of the NFL's top defenses, and is tied for second on the team with 36 tackles. Miami leads the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 12.8 points per contest.
Last week, the Dolphins had a four-game winning streak snapped with a 19-13 overtime loss to New England. In overtime, Troy Brown beat safeties Brock Marion and Sammy Knight for an 82-yard touchdown reception.
Ricky Williams once again was the workhorse for the Dolphins on offense as he carried 27 times for 94 yards. After running for at least 100 yards in consecutive games, Williams has failed to reach the century mark in the last three contests.
But Williams should offer a stiff test for the Chargers, who rank 28th in the NFL against the run. San Diego has faced some of the top backs in the league this season - Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis, Clinton Portis and Fred Taylor.
The Chargers also have one of the top running backs in the league in LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown in last Sunday's 26-20 victory at Cleveland. San Diego became the final team in the NFL to win a game this season.
Tomlinson ranks fifth in the NFL with 657 yards rushing. But he is facing the league's second-ranked defense against the run (70.8 rpg).
San Diego leads the series, 12-11.
