Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio is so enraged by the NFL’s three-game suspension of his linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that he is “embarrassed” by the league’s handling of the matter and describes his player’s portrayal as ” Bulls–t”. “

“We will say Azeez Al-Shair, no one embodies our program more than Azeez,” Caserio told reporters on Tuesday. “What he’s about, what he’s been through, you all know his story. There is no person more selfless, more committed to the team, who has earned the respect that represents everything this program is supposed to be about. I mean, this morning, he’s at a United Way event.

“So some of the comments about his character, who he is and what his intentions are are from people who honestly know nothing about Azeez Al-Shaair. And the league should address some of the comments he made about lack of sportsmanship, lack of coaching ability, lack of attention to the rules, frankly it’s embarrassing.

Insult to NFL Al-Shair portrayal

Caserio was referring to the third paragraph of the suspension letter that NFL vice president Jon Runyan sent to Al-Shaair announcing his three-game suspension.

“What bothers us is the picture that has been painted about Azeez, his intentions, who he is as a person. I mean, honestly, it’s bullshit,” Caserio said. “And it’s unfair to the individual. It’s unfair to the organization…To talk about Azeez’s intent, his intentions and some of the comments that were made is frankly embarrassing.”

“That essentially means Azeez doesn’t give a damn about the fans, doesn’t give a damn about how to play football properly and is uncoachable. It couldn’t be further from the truth, but when you make these statements and accusations.” And then you paint a picture of a player, honestly no one has much respect for that.

To be clear, Caserio portrays his player as a volunteer on his days off and a great team leader, and that’s true. Al-Shair is team captain for the Texans.

But he has also earned a reputation for questionable tactics. Al-Shaair escaped ejection and suspension, but was fined $11,817 for being unnecessarily rough toward Bears running back Roschon Johnson in Week 2. He beat Johnson.

And that:

Caserio upset about NFL ‘consistency’

The NFL clearly took Al-Shair’s history into account when handing down the three-game suspension. However, Casario claims that the NFL is inconsistent in its approach to punishment.

“One of the biggest problems, and I probably speak for a lot of teams, not just the Houston Texans, is that teams are just asking the league for consistency,” Caserio said. “And I would say that in this situation, quite frankly, there is no consistency at all relative to the level of discipline that has been passed down.”

In his press conference, Caserio then discussed several examples of players who were reported for unnecessary harshness and then excluded from games.

Detroit’s Brian Branch was ejected in a game against Green Bay earlier this season. He played the following week.

Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended one game in September for repeated game law violations.

Dec 1, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) slides downfield in front of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) during the second quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory attribution: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Kareem Jackson received harsher punishment

Denver’s Kareem Jackson has been ruled out for multiple games and suspended twice in 2023. Caserio cited him as an example of how the NFL treated other players with leniency, but Jackson was actually suspended for four games – twice.

Jackson appealed the initial suspension and it was subsequently reduced to two games. But when he returned to the Broncos’ lineup, he was sent off again during his first game back and subsequently served a four-game suspension.

The Jackson example does not support Caserio’s argument of NFL inconsistency at all.

“I think the most important thing from our perspective, and that’s what all teams want, is some level of consistency,” Caserio said. “We’ve spoken to the league, honestly, we don’t have a good explanation. DeMeco (Ryans) spoke to them yesterday, so it is what it is.”