The NFL imposed a fine Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram for retaliation against the player who gave quarterback Trevor Lawrence a season-ending hit.
Engram was fined $11,255 after assaulting the Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shair in retaliation for his hit on Lawrence in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, according to NFL.com.
Engram was the first Jaguars player to go after Al-Shaair after the goal, as players from both teams swarmed to the area of the goal.
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“It was a dirty hit,” Engram told reporters after the game. “At that point, the intuition just didn’t feel like a clean hit, so I had to stand up for my quarterback.
‘I just knew it was wrong. It was a dirty game. You stood up for your boys. That’s just how it goes.’
Evan Engram of the New York Giants runs with the ball after making a catch against Azeez Al-Shaair (51) of the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on September 27, 2020 in East Rutherford, NJ (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
While Engram was fined, Al-Shair was suspended without pay for three matches. The NFL has said the linebacker’s involvement in the brawl played a role in the discipline.
Lawrence suffered his second concussion in a year after the hit and was placed on injured reserve. The quarterback will undergo shoulder surgery due to an injury he initially suffered in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Lawrence posted on X Sunday evening that he was “home and feeling better.”
After the game, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans criticized the Jaguars for “overreacting” after Al-Shaair’s hit on Lawrence, suggesting the quarterback was to blame.
“It wasn’t our guys. It’s their team that overreacted, pushed our guy and dragged our guy to the sideline. So there’s no need for that on that side. We have to be better on the sideline as well, with both teams,” said Ryans. told reporters Sunday.
Players fight after Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) hit Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence with a late hit during the first half on December 1, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“I think what we can do is you have to look at all sides, and we don’t have to overreact just because I think someone is going to get hurt,” he said. “We’re not trying to intentionally hurt anyone. I think there’s an overreaction when someone gets hurt, but we have to look at it all from all perspectives.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson defended his team for its reaction to the hit, calling Ryans’ reaction to the incident “surprising.”
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“We’re not out to hurt anyone. We’re not out to destroy careers. We’re out to win a football match and play hard within the rules. That’s our job. we coach it. That’s how we play it.” Pederson said.
“If they ask or suggest that we go after someone, we don’t do that. Flat out, we don’t do that. It’s not how I coach. It’s not how I’m going to coach these teams, these players.” We just go out and do our job. Play hard, play fast, play physically within the rules.”
Al-Shaair has apologized and emphasized that he did not intend to hit Lawrence illegally. The linebacker has also spoken out against “racist and Islamophobic fans” in the wake of the public reaction to the incident.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) advances in front of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) in the second quarter at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, December 1, 2024. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
But after it was announced that Al-Shaair’s appeal against his three-match suspension had been rejected, he sent a message with a different tone on Wednesday.
Al-Shaair posted a collection of photos on Instagram with the cryptic caption: “IF YOU WANT ME TO BECOME YOUR VILLAIN, YOU WILL BE VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON.”
The four photos he posted were of him entering the field, a pro-Palestinian cobbler, a photo of Heath Ledger as The Joker and a quote that said: “It’s beautiful to be rejected, misunderstood, unseen and unprotected by people .It teaches you to rely on Allah for everything.”
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