Texans ‘stand behind’ Azeez Al-Shaair amid Trevor Lawrence tackle outrage, says head coach DeMeco Ryans

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans is backing Azeez Al-Shaair amid outrage over his linebacker’s vicious tackle on Trevor Lawrence.

Al-Shaair, who has also come under fire for wearing a pro-Palestine message on his shoes, will be suspended by the NFL following his brutal hit on Jaguars quarterback Lawrence in Houston’s 23-20 win over Jacksonville on Sunday .

The Texans defender was immediately ejected from the game after the illegal tackle, leading to a brawl between the two teams as irate Jaguars players made their anger clear.

Lawrence, meanwhile, was taken off the pitch with concussion before reassuring fans that he was ‘feeling better’ later on Sunday evening.

But because his player was heavily criticized for the hit, Ryans said during a press conference on Monday that the Texans fully support their player.

“With the whole Azeez situation, we stand with Azeez and everything that came out of it,” he told reporters.

Al-Shair is suspended by the NFL after this brutal hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence

“Unfortunately he hit a quarterback, but it’s twofold. Many quarterbacks these days try to abuse the rule when they run late and try to gain an extra yard.

‘If you are a defender, there is a lot of pressure on the defender. Whether it’s on the sideline or on the quarterback, you don’t know what anyone is thinking. You don’t know if a man gets up and continues running, you don’t know. And then you get a late slide and you hit the guy.

“It’s a shame that Trevor got hurt, and I hope Trevor is doing well, but also if you’re sliding, you gotta go down, and if you go out of bounds, go out of bounds, because that rule is there to protect the ball. quarterbacks.

“We want our quarterbacks to be safe in the league. So we just have to be safe and if we slide, make sure we keep our heads down.”

The Texans coach also took aim at the Jacksonville staff for “overreacting” on the sideline when Al-Shaair scored the goal on Lawrence, which he said led to the massive brawl between the two teams.

“Azeez hits the man, but their sideline overreacts and it turns into a fight,” he continued. “It wasn’t our guys, their team overreacted and pushed our guy, dragged our guy to the sideline. That’s inappropriate.’

Ryans then described Al-Shaair as a “great person” as he came to his defense.

‘Azeez is a very good player. He plays the game the right way, he never intends to hurt anyone while playing the game,” he added.

‘Anyone who knows Azeez and has spoken to Azeez [will know] There is no one with a bigger heart. This man is a special man who I have known since 2019. A special young man, I enjoy working with him.

“Any photo that portrays Azeez as a dirty player or doing anything deliberate… that is the exact opposite of what Azeez is.

“People who know Azeez and how he plays the game, yes, he plays it fast and plays it physical, but sometimes that physicality is misunderstood in today’s game.”