A former teammate of Azeez Al-Shaair explained why he supported the Houston Texans linebacker while also being a teammate of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Veteran defensive tackle Arik Armstead liked Al-Shaair’s Instagram post following the NFL’s decision to deny his appeal of the three-game suspension he received for an illegal hit on Lawrence during Sunday’s 23-20 win.
Armstead, who signed a three-year deal with Jacksonville following his release from the San Francisco 49ers this spring, addressed the tweet with media Thursday afternoon. While he felt for Lawrence, who now will miss the remainder of the regular season because of a shoulder injury, Armstead said he also felt for Al-Shaair, who was in a rocky position after a bang-bang play.
The two were teammates in San Francisco for four years before Al-Shaair left in the 2023 offseason.
“First off, I love Trevor. He’s a great teammate. Great player. Great person. And what happened, seeing him get injured, was terrible,” Armstead said. “You never want to see that happen to a teammate of yours.
“Also, Azeez is a great friend of mine. We were locker mates for four years, right next to each other, and we have a great relationship as well too.”
“It was a weird situation for me, for sure, seeing my teammate being injured. But also, a friend of mine being in a situation like that.” #Jaguars DL Arik Armstead addressed liking his former teammate Azeez Al-Shaair’s instagram post. He brought it up unprompted. pic.twitter.com/okbc3jxeH4
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) December 5, 2024
Al-Shaair, who won’t be able to return until Week 18’s season finale against the Titans, apologized to Lawrence via social media on Monday. A day later, the NFL slapped him with the suspension, stating that “lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play.”
Armstead took offense to how the NFL and fans portrayed his former teammate in the public eye. He also wasn’t a fan of how multiple people attacked Al-Shaair’s Muslim faith on social media, which prompted the liking of the post captioned in Al-Shaair’s “villainous” narrative surrounding his on-field play.
“To see the ridicule and (Al-Shaair) being ostracized the way he is and the remarks people are making about him is also terrible,” Armstead said. “I feel like I can support my great teammate Trevor andhoust I can also support a friend in a rough situation when people are being racist towards him and a lot of hateful things are being said about him.”
Armstead didn’t defend the actions of Al-Shaair that led to his ejection, but he did call the sixth-year linebacker a “good dude.” He also mentioned that he spoke to Lawrence about the situation, who understood why he was trying to support both sides.
“Seeing a teammate get injured, but also having a friend of mine be in a situation like that,” Armstead said. “He was definitely in the wrong and made a bang-bang play that I wish that (he) could have back.”
The Texans return from the bye week to take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 15 at NRG Stadium.
