Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be missing a few games in concussion protocol as a result of the Azeez Al-Shaair hit that knocked him unconscious during last Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans
Rewind five to 10 years and the hit isn’t illegal or creating so much fake outrage from the peanut gallery. However, social media often makes a mountain out of a molehill, but according to former NFL running back Jonathan Wells, who has taken his share of rough and questionable hits, nobody is to blame for how that situation went down more than Lawrence.
In a previous interview with The Shadow League, Wells said he thought the three-game suspension was “weak and wack,” “excessive” but he didn’t go into great detail about why Lawrence was also to blame.
Jonathan Wells Says Trevor Lawrence Slid Late Causing Illegal Hit By Azeez Al-Shaair
“It all depends on how you want to see it,” Wells said during his most recent appearance on The Shadow League’s “Locker Room” podcast.
“I feel like he slid a little bit too late,” Wells continued. “He could have slid earlier if you ask me… I think what did most of the damage was his head hitting the ground. He hit him with a little chicken wing around the shoulder, but the ground did most of the damage.”
So according to Wells, the hit was a bit late, but so was Lawrence’s slide, which made the entire situation messy and hard to interpret.
Wells Says You Have To Protect Your Quarterback
“Egregious? I don’t think so, Wells insisted.
As controversial or overblown as the hit was, the fisticuffs and back-and-forth that ensued following it also faced some criticism from fans. Wells says, based on his four-year run in the NFL and what he knows, regardless of whose fault it was, the brawl was justified because.
“You absolutely have to protect your quarterback,” Wells tells The Shadow League. “I would have been looking for whoever is nearest to me and been trying to take somebody’s head off as well. You have to have that kind of passion behind your quarterback who’s the leader of your offense and your team as well. If you’re not going to protect your quarterback, I don’t know what you’re going out on the football field for.”
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Wells also said that the way the rules are being changed and manipulated on a yearly basis makes it hard for defenders to follow coaches’ instructions on avoiding penalties, late hits and illegal hits.
“The coaches talk about this all the time, but sometimes I don’t know what’s a legal tackle right now. These guys are out there in the heat of the battle. This man (Al-Shaair) is a known enforcer. He’s out there to knock heads off. That’s what he does. So I’m not going to be mad at him because he took it a little extra. Like I said he should have said a little bit earlier.”
Wells was an offensive player during an NFL career in which he rushed for 1,167 yards and 10 TDs. He was also a member of the inaugural Houston Texans season in 2002.
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The lasting effects of Al-Shaair’s hit on Lawrence shouldn’t carry into this weekend’s games. The NFL is a hurt game and that’s not going to change overnight, regardless of rules changes or the public lacking an understanding of what this gladiator sport is about.
As far as Al-Shaair changing his style when he returns from suspension, “It is what it is. That’s what we want him to do,” Wells told the “Locker Room.” “He’s supposed to knock people out when they come across that field. Unfortunately you don’t like to see people go out like that but at the same time the boys have to be as physical as he can at all times.”
In other words, don’t expect Al-Shaair or any linebacker in his position to take it easy on the next quarterback who doesn’t make his mind up early to slide in the open field.
He could get rocked. Such is football.
“I’m from that old school,” Wells boasted. “I don’t think anything is illegal. The word on the streets was keep ya head on a swivel. You have to be aware of the moment.”
