Trevor Lawrence’s Season Appears to be Over After Nasty Hit to the Head
The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed quarterback Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, three days after he took a blow to the head from Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Lawrence scrambled on first down with just over 4 minutes to play in the half, trying to slide to avoid the hit, but Al-Shaair launched into his head and neck area. The quarterback was down for a bit and Jaguars players came over to dole out their own kind of justice toward Al-Shaair, who was ejected from the game and suspended for three more contests.
Lawrence posted on X Sunday night that he was “home and feeling better,” but the IR stint will cause him to miss the next four games. He would be eligible to return for the final game of the season, but it’s hard to imagine the Jaguars risking anything in a meaningless game – in fact, the only meaning for them could be the No. 1 pick of the draft.
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan announced that Al-Shaair would be suspended without pay, calling the hit “unacceptable and a serious violation of the playing rules.” Runyan also pointed to Al-Shaair’s involvement in the on-field brawl that erupted after the hit, as well as previous hits he has had that led to his punishment.
Al-Shaair issued an apology on Monday, saying, “To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Before the game we spoke and I told you how great it was to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them, especially one that was ruled ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.’”
