The NFL fined Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram in retaliation for his season-clinching hit against quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
According to NFL.com, Engram was fined $11,255 after attacking Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair in retaliation for a hit on Lawrence in the second quarter of Sunday's game.
Engram became the first Jaguars player to go after Al Sha'air after the hit as players from both teams swarmed the hit area.
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“It was a tough blow,” Engram told reporters after the game. “At that moment, I instinctively didn’t think it was a clean hit, so I had to stand up for the quarterback.
“We knew it was wrong. It was a dirty play. You guys stood up for your guys and that's the result.”
Evan 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 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 27, 2020.・Engram player. (Mike Stove/Getty Images)
Engram was fined, while Al Shair was suspended for three games without pay. The NFL announced that the linebacker's involvement in the brawl had a disciplinary impact.
The impact left Lawrence with his second concussion in a year and he was placed on injured reserve. The quarterback will undergo shoulder surgery for the injury he first sustained in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Trevor Lawrence is on injured reserve, with a dangerous hit likely ending his season.
Lawrence posted on X On Sunday night, he said, “I went home and felt 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 players' fault. It was their team that overreacted and pushed our players away and dragged our players to the sideline. So on that side, we don't need that. “Both teams have to get better on the sidelines,'' Ryan told reporters on Sunday.
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair (0) takes a late hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the first half on December 1, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. Afterwards, the players compete. December 1, 2024. (AP Photo/John Rau)
“I think what you can do is look at all aspects. There's no need to overreact just because you think a player is injured,” he said. “We're not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I think we overreact when someone is hurt, but we have to look at everything from every perspective.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson defended his team's reaction to the hit, calling Ryans' reaction to the incident “astounding.”
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“We're not doing it to hurt anyone. We're not doing it to ruin a career. We're doing it to win football games and play hard within the rules. That's what we do. That's how we coach. That's how we play,'' Pederson said.
“If they're asking us or suggesting we go after someone, we're not doing that. To be clear, we're not doing that. That's not how I coach. That's not how I coach these teams and these players. “We just go out there and play hard, play fast and play physical within the rules.''
Mr Al Shail apologized and insisted he had not intended to unlawfully hit Mr Lawrence. Following public reaction to the incident, the linebacker also spoke out against “racist and Islamophobic fans.”
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, 16, hits Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair during the second quarter at Everbank Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. 0 years old). (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
However, he sent a message in a different tone on Wednesday after it was announced that Al Shail's appeal against his three-match suspension had been rejected.
Al Shaair posted a photobook on Instagram with the cryptic caption: “If you want me to be your villain, be your villain! See you again.”
The four photos he posted include one of him entering the field, pro-Palestinian cleats, a photo of Heath Ledger as the Joker, and “There's beauty in being rejected, misunderstood, unseen, and unprotected.'' It teaches us to trust in Allah in everything.”
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