Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was carted off the sector within the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Houston Texans after linebacker Azeez Al-Shair delivered a late, hard hit while Lawrence slipped. The Jaguars later ruled Lawrence out of the sport on account of a concussion.
After the hit, Jaguars tight end Evan Engram ran over to Al-Shaair and pushed him while Lawrence remained on the bottom. While medical personnel tended to Lawrence, a scuffle broke out between Jaguars and Texans players.
Officials ejected Al-Shair and Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones from the sport for unnecessary roughness, and Engram received a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. Coaches and officials needed to escort Al-Shaair off the sector because he continued to argue with Jaguars players, particularly offensive tackle Brandon Scherff.
As Al-Shair left the sector, he interacted with Jaguars fans who were seen throwing objects and trash on the 27-year-old linebacker.
Here's what Texas QB CJ Stroud needed to say about Azeez Al-Shair's hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/JxsjNPoz9w
– FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 1, 2024
“(This hit) is not representative of us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans told Fox Sports at halftime.
When asked for clarification on the sending offs of Al-Shair and Jones, referee Land Clark said Al-Shair committed an illegal hit against Lawrence and Jones because he got here off the bench and threw a punch at a player. Clark said Engram was not ejected because his jab “did not warrant a disqualification, but it was unnecessary roughness.”
Engram said he pushed Al-Shair because his instincts took over after seeing the hit on Lawrence and he desired to get up for the quarterback.
“It was a dirty hit,” Engram said. “These hits are always questionable. … I saw (Lawrence) slip and then I saw the hit. Honestly, (instinct) took over. I just knew it was wrong. It was just a dirty game and you stand up for your boys.”
Trevor Lawrence pushes in front of Azeez Al-Shair in the course of the Jaguars-Texans matchup in Week 13. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Texas quarterback CJ Stroud said, “It was tough, man, to see Trev go out like that,” but defended Al-Shaair. “Azeez, I don’t think that’s his intention. … I know he didn't mean to do that. He needs to be more careful.”
Sunday was Lawrence's first game since Week 9 as he recovered from a shoulder injury. Before suffering the concussion, Lawrence was 4 of 10 for 41 yards with one interception. Backup QB Mac Jones took Lawrence's place and finished the sport 20 of 32 for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
Lawrence thanked fans for his or her support on Twitter on Sunday evening.
“I'm home and feeling better. “This means a lot to me, thank you everyone,” Lawrence said.
Thank you to everyone who cared for me/prayed for me. I'm home and feeling higher. Means so much to me, thanks all🙌🏼
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) December 2, 2024
The Texans (8-5) defeated the Jaguars (2-10) 23-20. After the sport, Lawrence went along with his wife Marissa from the locker room and towards the players' exit.
Al-Shaair's expulsion on Sunday comes lower than three months after the NFL fined him $11,817 for unnecessary harshness against the Chicago Bears. In the Week 2 matchup, Al-Shair hit Caleb Williams near the sideline while the Bears quarterback was running out of bounds. After the fight that resulted from this game, Al-Shair struck.
The NFL also penalized and later fined Al-Shair $11,255 for a late hit on Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard last week that Al-Shair knocked out of bounds.
Lawrence, 25, is in his fourth season with Jacksonville after being chosen No. 1 in 2021. In the Jaguars' first nine games, Lawrence accomplished 61.3 percent of his passes for two,004 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions. In each of his first three seasons, Lawrence played a minimum of 16 games.
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