HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair took to X on Monday morning to apologize to Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence after his violent blow to the quarterback’s facemask led to him being carted off the field with a concussion.
Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence scrambled left on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter of Houston’s 23-20 win on Sunday. He initiated a slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback.
In the long post, Al-Shaair, who was ejected for the hit, first said he didn’t see Lawrence sliding until “it was too late” and that it happened “in the blink of an eye” before saying he was sorry for the hit.
“To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening,” Al-Shaair wrote. “Before the game we spoke and I told you how great it was to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them, especially one that was ruled ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.’”
Lawrence clenched both fists after the hit — movements consistent with what’s referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury. He was on the ground for several minutes as teammates came to his defense and mobbed Al-Shaair.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday that those kind of plays are difficult for defenders to navigate.
“Unfortunate hit on the quarterback,” Ryans said. “But it’s two-fold, 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 and now ... a lot of onus is on the defender, right?
“You don’t know what a guy is thinking,” he continued. “You don’t know if a guy is staying up and he’s continuing to run. You don’t know, and then you get a late slide and you hit the guy. Unfortunate that Trevor got hurt. Hope Trevor is OK, but also if we’re sliding, we have to get down.”
Al-Shaair was ejected for “an illegal hit on the quarterback, unnecessary, to the neck and head area,” referee Land Clark said in a pool report Sunday. Jaguars rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones also was ejected for throwing a punch during the melee.
As Al-Shaair was leaving the field, fans started screaming at him. Jaguars veteran guard Brandon Scherff joined in, prompting another altercation with Al-Shaair. Texans teammate Will Anderson grabbed Al-Shaair and was escorting him off the field when a fan threw a water bottle and hit Anderson in the helmet. The fan was later ejected.
Later in his post on X, Al-Shaair said he understood why Jacksonville's players came to the defense of Lawrence in the brawl following the hit.
“I can understand you having his back and defending him in a situation like that,” Al-Shaair wrote.
But Ryans criticized the response of the Jaguars after the hit.
“Azeez hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts and it turns into a melee,” Ryans said. “It wasn’t our guys, their team overreacted, pushed our guy, dragging our guy to the sidelines. So that’s uncalled for on that side.”
Later in his post, Al-Shaair complained about reporters and others for their commentary about him in the wake of the hit.
“To the rest of the people who I’ve been called every single name in the book from (to) reporters with their hands ready for a story to find their villain, to racist and Islamophobic fans and people, you don’t know heart nor my character which I don’t need to prove to any of you,” he wrote. “God knows my intentions and anyone who has ever been a teammate or friend of mine knows my heart.”
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Sunday it was a play that ”really has no business being in our league,” and Ryans said “that’s not what we’re coaching.”
Last week, Al-Shaair was flagged and later fined $11,255 for a late hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard.
He was fined earlier this year after he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline in Week 2. That occurred during a scuffle that started after his hard shot on quarterback Caleb Williams near the sideline wasn’t flagged.
Al-Shaair, a sixth-year pro, will certainly receive a fine for the hit on Lawrence and could also be suspended.
At the beginning of his post on X, Al-Shaair said he’s always played the game hard and that he would never intentionally try to harm anyone.
“My goal is to hit you as hard as I can and then pray you’re still able to get up and play the next play,” he wrote. “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 thing which is provide for our families!”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.
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