Azeez Al-Shaair has signed a three-year contract extension with the Houston Texans, keeping him with the team through 2029. The linebacker, who recently earned a Pro Bowl selection, will earn $18 million starting in 2027.
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Two years ago, Azeez Al-Shaair signed a contract to reunite with DeMeco Ryans in Houston.
Now, he's locked in with the Houston Texans through 2029.
Al-Shaair, fresh off a Pro Bowl honor as the anchor of the No. 1 defense, inked a new three-year extension ahead of the final year of his current contract. He's become not only a fan favorite at Reliant Stadium but also a handsomely-paid defender, earning a new $18 million starting in 2027.
It's been a whirlwind for the former undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic since he arrived in Houston. Back in 2024, Al-Shaair admitted to hitting an all-time low after his three-game suspension for the hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
"People get into car accidents and itâs like, âYouâre at fault, youâre at fault," Al-Shaair said on Friday. "Oh, it happened so fast.â Thatâs what football is, itâs split-second decisions. I worked my butt off for six years up to that point to even get myself in that position, to be here, to be a Texan and to be the leader of a defense. When all that stuff went down, to see the way people were talking about me as a person and as a player, it hurt because I just felt like everything kind of came crumbling down and it wasnât a reflection of who I see myself as or who I try to be."
Al-Shaair appealed the suspension, but the NFLPA denied the claim. That led to a dark moment in the young life of the 28-year-old.
"IÂ was truly broken," Al-Shaair said. "My heart was broken; my mother could tell you. Everybody who is here that I interacted with could tell you, I was in an extremely, extremely low, dark place."
After he returned from the suspension, Al-Shaair said he wondered if his career would ever be the same and he pondered leaving the game behind him. Instead, the people he turned to most were the people who recognized who he was as a person, not just a player.
"A lot of the people in this building poured into me and their job description might have been strength coach, or it might have been athletic trainer or rehab guy. I was dealing with an injury. I was dealing with all the off-the-field stuff and the stuff with the Trevor Lawrence stuff and the suspension and all of it, and people pretty much going for my character. I really leaned in on all these other people who did more than their job required them to do to try to make sure I was in a good place mentally. Iâm so just grateful.â
Azeez Al-Shaair signed a three-year contract extension with the Houston Texans, keeping him with the team through 2029.
Starting in 2027, Azeez Al-Shaair will earn $18 million as part of his new contract.
Azeez Al-Shaair was recently honored with a Pro Bowl selection and has become a key player on the Texans' No. 1 defense.
Azeez Al-Shaair faced challenges including a three-game suspension in 2024, which he described as an all-time low in his career.
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The Texans always believed Al-Shaair was meant to be a leader for the future of where the end goal was destined to be. Now, he'll be locked in with the AFC South club for the better part of his career.
Good. It's the way Al-Shaair wanted it to be.
"The last thing I ever thought when I got to this place and got around these people and saw how special it was and how much it meant to me," Al-Shaair said. "I truly⊠I really could not ever see myself putting on another uniform for anyone else.â
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair thankful for franchise during 'broken' time