HOUSTON – Emotional and introspective while standing at his locker, Texans veteran linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair opened a curtain into his feelings.
For Al-Shaair, the journey from feeling persecuted and misunderstood by the NFL when he was suspended three games for a concussion-causing hit on sliding Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence to now is a significant milestone.
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A year ago, Al-Shaair was in a self-described dark place as he contemplating walking away from football and was angry and disappointed at league executive Jon Runyan’s harsh characterization of him in a widely criticized disciplinary letter.
Now, Al-Shaair is an extremely happy man. The team captain and Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for his work in the community is a first-time Pro Bowl selection in balloting split between fans, players and coaches. The Texans’ leading tackler is overjoyed at the recognition and validation this honor means. And, as an underdog figure who experienced homelessness with his family growing up in Florida and went undrafted out of Florida Atlantic, this represents a full-circle moment.
“It’s just amazing,” Al-Shaair said. “That journey makes it really special. Just a year ago, I was in the space that I thought about quitting playing football because I thought I couldn’t play the game how I’ve always loved to play it, and just felt like the narrative and the things that were being said about me was just so different from what I feel like you see on tape and the people that know me. Thank God, it’s just absolutely amazing with this timing.
“Everything that I went through over the last year has set me here, removed from being basically the outcast of the league to now being a Pro Bowl. I’m on a a great team with a great defense. A year ago, it was hard for me to see myself playing the game.”
For roughly five days last December, Al-Shaair said he sat in a room by himself with no activity in the wake of his suspension. It was during that time after his appeal was denied that he posted a photograph of the Joker character portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in the movies with a caption saying he would embrace being a “villain.”
He was the subject of racist messages on social media, including being called a terrorist because of his deep Muslim faith and support of Palestine.
The inflammatory language in a disciplinary letter from league executive Jon Runyan, who had a well-earned reputation as a dirty player during his days as a Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman, enraged Al-Shaair, coaches and teammates who have steadfastly defended his character and integrity.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has witnessed firsthand the growth of Al-Shaair from intense scrutiny last year and his arrival in the NFL as an obscure undrafted free agent. Now, Al-Shaair is a well-established defensive signal caller for the top-ranked defense in the league.
“I’m really proud of all of our guys who made the Pro Bowl,” Ryans said. “A really special one, probably more special to me for seeing Azeez be able to make the Pro Bowl. Seeing the trajectory of his career, where he started as an undrafted free agent, backup player, special teams and to see him make his way in this league. Not just make his way but to come in and knock the doors down and show everyone throughout the league this year of the type of player that he is.
“He’s our Walter Payton Man of the Year. Now, he gets this huge honor of the Pro Bowl, which is even bigger because you get the respect from your peers. That’s the thing that means a lot. I’m so proud of Azeez for accomplishing this. This Pro Bowl is huge for him, it’s a huge honor and it was a special moment for me to be able to announce that news to him.”
Al-Shaair is a talented linebacker and emotional team leader who signed a three-year, $34 million free agent deal last year to reunite with Ryans, his position coach and defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers.
Al-Shaair leads the Texans with 96 tackles and a career-high eight passes defensed, two quarterback hits, one tackle for a loss, one interception and one fumble recovery. The Texans lead the NFL with 272.3 yards allowed per game and just 16.6 points per contest.
Joined in the Pro Bowl by teammates Will Anderson Jr., Derek Stingley Jr. and Nico Collins, Al-Shaair’s selection created a lot of excitement inside the locker room.
“Man, me and Azeez are like this,” Anderson said. “We’re both so connected because of our faith. Although he’s Muslim and I’m Christian, we share so much of the same faith, man. To talk to him and hear his story and everything that he went through last year, God gets the final say-so, not man, not this world.
“And just believing in what he believes in, man, and just seeing the way that God has worked in his life, man, it’s just been a miracle and it’s just been a blessing to see.”
The bond and brotherhood between Al-Shaair and Anderson, two of the best players on the defending AFC South champions, has strengthened the team and each other.
“We really have a great relationship,” Al-Shaair said. “I think a big part of our relationship is based on our faiths, and just we connect a lot when it comes to just talking about faith. We just sat down together and talked about it because we have had different talks throughout the season and he’s been going through his own ups and downs and the same with me, and we kind of just help each other keep going,
When Al-Shaair got the news from Ryans that he had been named to the Pro Bowl as one of the top defensive players in the game, it was another unforgettable moment.
“Man, it was special because that’s where it started, me and him, back in San Francisco,” Al-Shaair said. “The journey is a blessing. It’s very poetic that we’re gonna be in San Francisco (site of the Super Bowl) and it’s not trying to be for the Pro Bowl. It’s still kind of crazy that the Pro owl, Super Bowl, all of it’s happening where my whole career started, where everything started with me and him. It was a special moment. I was definitely emotional.”
Al-Shaair’s steady presence was missed sorely by the Texans during a narrow 23-21 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday when he was sidelined with knee and ankle injuries. The Texans had a lot of issues in tackling and coverage against Raiders rookie running Ashton Jeanty, who had 188 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.
Al-Shaair returned to practice Tuesday and is on track to play Saturday in a pivotal football game on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers. A win clinches a playoff spot for the Texans for the third year in a row.
It was difficult for him to sit out, but, in the big picture, the decision to rest and allow him to heal looks smart.
“I feel good,” Al-Shaair said. “It was hard because that’s just not who I am and I’ve fought through everything I’ve ever had, just in my life in general.”
Gratitude and remaining hungry, it’s all a balancing act for Al-Shaair.
His perspective on helping his team, helping his community, including children who are amputees, it’s all about living in the moment.
“It’s a fine line,” Al-Shaair said. “It’s the balance of contentment versus complacency. Contentment is the gratitude, whereas complacency is more like, ‘I’m good, I got it.’ So, I think when you live in a world of gratitude but still hungry to have more, that’s a fine balance. If you’re getting complacent, complacency, when you just think you got it made, that’s when you’re in trouble.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com