TEXANS NEWS
League rules on appeal from Houston Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Dec 4, 2024, 7:12 pm
TEXANS NEWS
The NFL and the NFL players association upheld Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's three-game suspension without pay for repeated violations of player safety rules following his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, who sustained a concussion and is now on injured reserve.
Hearing officer Ramon Foster, jointly appointed by the league and the players' union, ruled Wednesday.
Al-Shaair’s punishment was announced Tuesday by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. In his letter to Al-Shaair, Runyan noted that he has had multiple offenses for personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations in recent seasons.
His most egregious one came in a 23-20 win at Jacksonville on Sunday.
Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence was scrambling in the second quarter and started to slide. But Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback.
In his letter to Al-Shaair, Runyan called the hit “unacceptable and a serious violation of the playing rules.”
“Video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide,” Runyan wrote. “You led with your forearm and helmet and delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of your opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact.”
Houston general manager Nick Caserio defended Al-Shaair and said he doesn’t believe the league is using consistency in issuing punishments such as these.
“I probably speak for a lot of teams, not only the Houston Texans, but I think that’s all teams ask for is consistency from the league,” he said. “And I’d say in this situation, quite frankly, there’s no consistency at all relative to the level of discipline that’s been handed down.”
Al-Shaair won’t be eligible to return to Houston’s active roster until after the team’s Christmas Day game against Baltimore. Al-Shaair has a base salary of $1.5 million this season, meaning it will cost him about $265,000 to miss three games.
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 in what escalated into a brawl.
As Al-Shaair was leaving the field after being ejected, 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.
Runyan also outlined Al-Shaair’s behavior after the hit in announcing the suspension.
“After the illegal hit, you proceeded to engage in a brawl, which you escalated when you pulled an opponent down to the ground by his facemask,” he wrote. “After the referee announced that you were disqualified for the hit and your unsportsmanlike acts, you removed your helmet and re-engaged with your opponent while walking down and across the field, which started another physical confrontation near the end zone.”
This is the third time this season Al-Shaair has been punished by the league. Last week, he 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.
“Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL,” Runyan told Al-Shaair in the letter. “Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated.”
Yordan Alvarez homered for the first time since returning from a fractured right hand, helping Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Yordaddy is home. pic.twitter.com/MnHS2ohWH1
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 28, 2025
Alvarez hit a two-run drive off Angel Chivilli in the eighth inning for his fourth homer this season. The slugger was activated from the 60-day injured list Tuesday and went 0 for 2 with two walks in his first game back.
Valdez (12-7) allowed three hits — all singles — in seven innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.
Cam Smith also went deep for Houston, which remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Seattle for the top spot in the AL West.
CAM THE MAN SMASH pic.twitter.com/n9u8shRKD4
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 28, 2025
Injury updates
The Houston Astros placed catcher Victor Caratini on the concussion injured list on Wednesday, putting the AL West leaders in a bind behind the plate.
Yainer Diaz, another Houston catcher, is day to day with a left wrist injury. He was hit by an errant pitch from Craig Kimbrel while catching in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Baltimore.
The Astros recalled catcher César Salazar from Triple-A Sugar Land, and he got the start for Wednesday night’s game against Colorado.
Caratini took a foul ball off the mask during the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 6-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Caratini is batting .262 with a career-high 43 RBIs, while matching his career high with 11 homers in 95 games this season.
Diaz is batting .257 with 18 homers and 55 RBIs in 116 games this season.