Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair thankful for franchise during 'broken' time

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 it’s like, ‘You’re at fault, you’re at fault," Al-Shaair said on Friday. "Oh, it happened so fast.’ That’s what football is, it’s 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 wasn’t 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.

"I 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. I’m so just grateful.”