Houston Texans Head Coach Defends Azeez Al-Shamir for the Late Hit, While Suggesting Trevor Lawrence Bare Some Blame

On Monday, Houston Texan head coach DeMeco Ryans addressed the hit delivered by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that resulted in a concussion for Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence during Sunday’s game on December 1st.

While addressing the media on Monday, Ryans thinks that the Jaguars players overreacted to the hit that led to the brawl. 

“It wasn’t our guys. Their team overreacted, pushed our guy, dragging our guy to the sideline. So that’s uncalled for on that side. We have to be better on the sideline as well with both teams,” he said during a press conference.

Ryans emphasizes how unfortunate it is for any quarterback to sustain an injury. He also mentioned the play specifically was twofold.

“A lot of the quarterbacks in this day and age, they try to take advantage of the rule where they slide late and they try to get an extra yard,” Ryans said.

In the play, Lawrence slid while running for extra yards when Al-Shear made a late hit on Lawrence while preparing for the tackle. The late hit resulted in Al-Shaair hitting Lawrence headfirst, which caused Lawrence to get a concussion. The hit that started everything led to Al-Shaair’s ejection. The subsequent altercation led to the removal of Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones from the game.

Al-Shaair released a statement expressing regret for injuring Lawrence:

“I’ve always played the game as hard as I could. Never with the intent to harm anyone, and anybody that knows me knows that. My goal is to hit you as hard as I can then I pray you’re still able to get up and play the next play,” Al-Shaair stated.

“And when the game is over, go home to your family unharmed because it’s not personal; it’s just competition! We both are trying to do the same, which is provide for our families,” Al-Shaair continued.

The NFL suspended Al-Shaair for three games for the illegal hit on Lawrence.