NFL analyst redirects Texans GMs angry words about Azeez Al-Shaair right back at him

During Sunday's 20-23 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair delivered a controversial big hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, knocking him out of the game.

As a result of Al-Shaair's hit, Evan Engram reacted and ignited a brawl between the two teams after Lawrence was knocked out on the ground. As a result of his illegal hit and his actions in the brawl, Al-Shaair was disqualified from the game and received a three-game suspension by the NFL.

The Texans disagreed with the suspension and general manager Nick Caserio went off on the NFL for their statement on why Al-Shaair deserves a three-game suspension. He termed their statement "embarrassing," which led to ESPN First Take analyst Stephen A. Smith calling his tenure as Texans GM embarrassing before the arrival of DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud.

"When he mentioned the word embarrassment, the first thing I thought about when the name came to Nick Caserio was how embarrassing his tenure was before he lucked up and got DeMeco Ryans and drafted CJ Stroud," Smith said.

"Because prior to that, one would argue that his tenure there was embarrassing and disgraceful with the coaches. He kept pushing in and out the door and all of this other stuff."

Caserio said yesterday that the NFL's statement on why Azeez Al-Shaair's hit was illegal was embarrassing while questioning why he was given a hefty suspension.

Here's the comment that Caserio made on Tuesday that Smith responded to:

"For the league to make some of the commentary about lack of sportsmanship, lack of coachability, lack of paying attention to the rules, quite frankly it’s embarrassing. And talk about a player who’s never been suspended, never been ejected. So now we’re saying he’s going to be suspended for three games?”

Azeez Al-Shaair issued a statement following his dangerous hit on Trevor Lawrence

Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Credits: Getty)

After receiving much criticism for his hit on Trevor Lawrence, Azeez Al-Shaair issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) to defend himself while apologizing to Lawrence.

"I've always played this game as hard as I could. Never with the intent to harm anyone and anybody that knows me knows that," Al-Shaair said. "My goal is to hit you as hard as I can and then I pray you're still able to get up and play the next play. And when the game is over go home unharmed because it's not personal it's just competition!"

"To Trevor, I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Bfore the game we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well."

Azeez Al-Shaair's appeal to the suspension will be heard on Wednesday, but for now, he's expected to miss the team's next three games.

Do you think Al-Shaair's suspension is justified for his hit on Lawrence, or do you think there isn't much he can do in his position, and he is treated unfairly?