For the second time this season, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans defended Azezz Al-Shaair against calls for the linebacker to be suspended. Ryans’ words Monday after Al-Shair’s illegal hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence were: similar to his words in September when he defended Al-Shaair for hitting Bears running back Roschon Johnson.

Al-Shair was not suspended for the hit, but instead paid a fine of $11,817. He was also fined $11,255 last week for hitting Titans running back Tony Pollard out of bounds.

He is expected to be suspended for his hit on Lawrence, which prompted the Jaguars to tackle Al-Shaair on the sideline.

“He’s an exceptional leader for us,” Ryans said via video from KPRC’s Aaron Wilson. “Azeez is a really good player and he plays the game the right way. His intention is never to hurt anyone while playing the game. If anyone knows Azeez and talks to Azeez, no one with a bigger heart than Azeez. This guy is a special guy that I have known since 2019. A special young man. I love working with him. Any image that conveys that Azeez is a dirty player or does something intentional is the exact opposite of who Azeez is. Anyone who knows Azeez knows him. You know how he plays the game.

“Yeah, he plays it fast. He plays it physically. Sometimes that physical nature is misunderstood in today’s game.”

No one misunderstood Al-Shair’s attack on Lawrence. The score came late as Lawrence slipped after a 6-yard gain, and it was cheap as Al-Shair placed his padded elbow in Lawrence’s head and neck area. Lawrence’s head hit the turf and he is now suffering from a concussion.

Al-Shaair apologized Monday, a day after he was ejected in the second quarter.

“Throughout this entire situation, we stand behind Azeez and everything that has come from it,” Ryans said. “Of course the unfortunate hit on the quarterback, but there are also two reasons. A lot of quarterbacks these days try to take advantage of the rule that they slip late and try to get an extra yard, and you’re a defender, and a lot of responsibility falls on the defender, whether or not he’s on the sideline or as a quarterback . You don’t know what a man thinks. You don’t know if a guy is going to stay up and keep running, and then you get a late slip and hit the guy. It’s a shame Trevor got hurt. We hope Trevor is doing well. But even if we slip, we have to get down; When we get out of bounds, we get out of bounds. This rule is designed to protect quarterbacks and we want our quarterbacks in the league to be safe.

“The whole thing is that Azeez hits the guy but his sideline overreacts and a scuffle breaks out. They weren’t our boys. Your team overreacted, pushed our guy and dragged him to the sideline, so it’s uncalled for on this side. We have to be better on the sideline.”

The Texans have an off week this week. So if the league suspends Al-Shair, the linebacker will sit out Week 15.