Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is at the center of an ongoing debate in the NFL. His hit to the head of Trevor Lawrence raises questions about the protection of quarterbacks and two plays involving Patrick Mahomes serve as great examples of the controversy.
At what point are defenders scared of tackling?!
Al-Shaair was ejected from Sunday’s contest after a late hit on the Jaguars’ signal-caller, which knocked him out of the game with a concussion. The 27-year-old tried to explain the nasty collision and coach DeMeco Ryans offered a passionate defense in his favor but the NFL ultimately decided to suspend Al-Shaair three games anyway. It was mostly because of his history of poor behavior, not the lone incident. The league’s decision was openly and ruthlessly criticized by Houston’s general manager.
Here’s the thing. Al-Shaair was absolutely late to Lawrence, who had already slid to the ground to give himself up, and made contact to the quarterback’s head with his forearm. He should know better. The hit deserved to be flagged for a penalty. No question.
With that being said, there is a real case to be made that Al-Shaair was playing within the precedent already set by other star quarterbacks in the past. There is a history to the much larger issue.
Take Patrick Mahomes for example…
The Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback looked like he was going to give himself up right before he picked up the first down with a third-quarter scamper against the Lions last season. The crashing defensive back let up to avoid a penalty. Mahomes instead stayed on his feet and picked up a first down.
NFL players afraid to hit a QB pic.twitter.com/ZunGp3oLuw
— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) September 8, 2023
If the Detroit defensive back continued downhill to tackle a still-standing Mahomes like Al-Shaair did on an already-down Lawrence, Mahomes would’ve been short of the line to gain. Instead, the defensive back thought Mahomes was going down like Lawrence and stopped his pursuit to avoid a penalty like Al-Shaair.
How is that fair?!
A similar incident took place earlier this season. Mahomes pretended to run out of bounds, cut back up field and continued down the sideline for the longest run of his career. The San Francisco 49ers were in position to knock Mahomes out of play by force, but they let up to avoid a penalty when they saw him turn his body toward the sideline. Instead of a tackle short of the first down, it was a 33-yard gain.
How is that fair?!
This is not to say that Azeez Al-Shaair was not in the wrong. Trevor Lawrence slid. The hit was late. The forearm to the head is an even bigger issue.
However, Al-Shaair was playing at full-speed, to the whistle. If he didn’t get downfield to make the tackle, Lawrence could have stayed on his feet like Mahomes and picked up the first down.
How is that fair?!
I am not here to present a solution. Only to point out the problem… At what point are defenders scared of tackling? Should Azez Al-Shaair be punished for ultimately doing his job to the fullest extent?