The NFL has fined Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram for retaliation against the player who delivered a season-ending hit to quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Engram was fined $11,255 after attacking Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair 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 attack Al-Shaair after the hit, as players from both teams flocked to the hit zone.
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“It was a bad call,” Engram told reporters after the game. “At that point my instinct was right, it didn’t look like a free throw, so I had to go and defend my quarterback.
“I just knew it was wrong. It was a dirty play. You defended your guys. That’s how it goes.”
Evan Engram of the New York Giants runs with the ball after catching Azeez Al-Shaair (51) of the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on September 27, 2020, in East Rutherford, NJ (Mike Stobé/Getty Images)
While Engram was fined, Al-Shaair was suspended three matches without pay. The NFL said the linebacker’s involvement in the fight played a role in the discipline.
Lawrence suffered his second concussion in a year as a result of the hit and was placed on injured reserve. The quarterback will undergo shoulder surgery for an injury he initially suffered in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
TREVOR LAWRENCE PLACED ON INJURED RESERVE, LIKELY ENDING HIS SEASON AFTER DANGEROUS HIT
Laurent posted on X By Sunday evening, 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 at fault.
“It wasn’t our guys. It was their team that overreacted, pushed our guy, dragged him to the sidelines. So, it’s not justified on that side. We have to also be better on the sidelines, with both teams,” Ryans told reporters on 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, Dec. 1, 2024, in Jacksonville, in Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“I think what can be done is just look at all sides, and we shouldn’t overreact just because I think one guy is hurt,” he said. “We’re not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I think there’s an overreaction when someone gets hurt, but we just have to look at it from all angles.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson defended his team for its reaction to the hit and called Ryans’ response to the incident “surprising.”
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“We don’t want to hurt anyone. We don’t want to ruin careers. We want to win a football game and play hard within the rules. That’s our job. That’s how we coach it. is how we play it,” Pederson said.
“If they ask or suggest that we go after someone, we don’t do it. Absolutely, we don’t do it. That’s not how I coach. That’s not how I coach that I’m going to coach these teams, these players, we’re just going to go out and do our job, play fast, play physically within the rules.
Al-Shaair apologized and insisted he did not intend to hit Lawrence illegally. The linebacker also spoke out against “racist and Islamophobic fans” following the public reaction to the incident.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) slides past Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) in the second quarter at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on 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 BE YOUR VILLAIN, I WILL BE YOUR VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON.”
The four photos he posted were of himself entering the field, a pro-Palestinian shoe, a photo of Heath Ledger as the Joker, and a quote that read: “There is a beauty in being rejected, misunderstood.” , invisible and unprotected by people. It teaches you to rely on Allah for everything. »
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