Texans' Azeez Al-Shaair says 3-game suspension left him in a 'dark place'
Al-Shaair was suspended last month for a hit that concussed Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
Azeez Al-Shaair had doubts that he'd ever play in the NFL again and found himself in a "really dark place" after being suspended three games for a hit that concussed Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
The Houston Texans linebacker spoke to reporters on Wednesday for the first time since his suspension was announced by the NFL last month.
“The things that you can think when somebody says they’re in a dark place, as dark as you can go is where I was truthfully,” Al-Shaair said. “It was a crazy time. It was hard for me to see myself playing football again.”
Al-Shaair apologized the next day and later lost his appeal of the suspension.
In a statement announcing that the appeal was denied, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan included a paragraph about Al-Shaair's history of rules violation and noted a "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. 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.”
That is something that stuck with Al-Shaair. While he accepted the suspension, he took exception to Runyan's words, writing on X this week that he had a "productive" meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent, but will not have his "character and integrity unjustifiably smeared."
Al-Shaair said Runyan told him that the letter was written while he was re-watching the play and the brawl that took place afterward and that his comments were not about Al-Shaair's entire career.
"But the way he typed it, he said got obviously taken out of context," said Al-Shaair. "I clearly made a mistake (and) the reason why he typed something, which ended up being taken out of context as a mistake, is because I did something that was obviously not right, me taking my helmet off and me starting another brawl ... wasn't right.
"But everything prior to that I stand on the fact that I never tried to hurt him."
Al-Shaair will suit up for the AFC South champion Texans' regular-season finale on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, which will be his first game since Dec. 1.
