Trevor Lawrence’s season is over now that he has been placed on IR after he suffered a concussion in the loss against the Texans on Sunday. Out of respect for Trevor Lawrence and his family, WUFO will not be including any images of the graphic play.
Texans Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was controversially suspended three games for the hit that caused Lawrence’s injury. Al-Shaair appealed the ruling, to no avail.
The Jags are 2-10, have five games to play, and Lawrence must sit for at least four weeks. With no playoff aspirations this season, it makes the most sense to shut down the injury-prone QB. Lawrence injured his non-throwing arm way back in the beginning of November and missed two games because of it. Ian Rappaport reported Wednesday that Lawrence will take this opportunity to have his shoulder surgically repaired. Backup Mac Jones will be the starter for Jacksonville going forward.
The suspension of LB Azeez Al-Shaair has sparked conversations about the difficulties defenses face when trying to navigate scrambling QBs. Many anonymous league personnel have reportedly spoken out against the ruling, some in favor of it.
The GOAT himself, Toom Brady had this to say in favor of defenses when he appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd:
“Certainly, for Trevor Lawrence, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, but it also is the reality of a very physical sport that we play,” Brady said. “But defensive players have to be aggressive. That’s their nature. I always tried to be aggressive on offense… and at the same time, the defense tries to tackle aggressively.”
Former Houston Texans star J.J. Watt thinks the punishment is inconsistent, confusing, and extreme. He elaborated during his appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” this week:
Azeez Al-Shaair has been the victim of some pretty intense character assassination in the days following the incident. Jon Runyan, the NFL’s VP of football operations said that the linebacker “lacked sportsmanship and respect for the game” which seemimgly opened the floodgates for a wave of continued hate aimed at Al-Shaair.
Before the NFL’s ruling, the linebacker took to social media to refute any claim of intentionally hurting Lawrence:
Team GM Nick Caserio, known for working behind the scenes, even made an appearance to defend one of his team captains:
The controversy surrounding the situation continues to swirl as more league personnel are speaking out about the punishment, however, the League seems to be unwavering, as shown in their denial of Al-Shaair’s appeal.
Written by Raven Ullah; WUFO Intern.
