JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Trevor Lawrence has watched the replay dozens of times, even recently. The slide. The hit. The reaction. The aftermath.
He鈥檚 over it. Lawrence doesn鈥檛 really want to relive it again this week as Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair prepares to return to Jacksonville for the first time since and getting suspended for three games.
鈥淚鈥檓 past that, way past that at this point in my life,鈥 Lawrence said Wednesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something I鈥檝e thought about since then. Everybody鈥檚 different. It鈥檚 football. It鈥檚 a violent game. Obviously, it鈥檚 unfortunate when things like that happen.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to get into all of that again. We鈥檙e past that. Not going to look into the rearview mirror.鈥
Lawrence doesn鈥檛 plan to go out of his way to see Al-Shaair before the game, either. But he realizes the two captains will meet at midfield for the coin toss.
鈥淲ill I say anything to him? Not outside of 鈥 what I would do with whoever was out there for the toss,鈥 Lawrence said.
Lawrence was carted off the field after taking a shot from Al-Shaair to the facemask. The late hit caused a sideline-clearing brawl and a second scuffle a few minutes later.
The unsportsmanlike blow left Lawrence in the fencing position 鈥 a common response to a traumatic brain injury in which both fists clench 鈥 and he stayed on the ground for several minutes while a melee ensued nearby. Lawrence was quickly ruled out with a concussion.
Al-Shaair was ejected and then got hit in the helmet with a water bottle thrown by a fan as he left the field. He and was eventually suspended without pay for repeated violations of player safety rules.
鈥淚鈥檝e gotten all type of crazy stuff since that day, and I still get it to this day from people just in general,鈥 Al-Shaair said Wednesday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if they鈥檙e fans of football or they just hate me. Either way, that鈥檚 between them and God. But I have no clue.
鈥淚 know I鈥檓 going to go out there and do what I鈥檝e done my entire career, play as hard as I can (and) anybody who got the ball in their hand, that鈥檚 who I鈥檓 trying to hit and just do my job.鈥
New Jaguars coach Liam Coen doesn鈥檛 expect any kind of retribution when the Texans (0-2) try to win their seventh consecutive game at Jacksonville (1-1) on Sunday.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 on our minds, then we鈥檙e probably thinking about the wrong things right now,鈥 Coen said.
The best response from the Jaguars would be to notch a victory, one that would put the two-time defending AFC South champions in a huge hole; Houston is one of only six teams since 1979 to make the playoffs after opening the season 0-3.
鈥淥bviously, you don鈥檛 want to see your teammates get hit,鈥 Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. 鈥淭he emotions were high. At the end of the day, man, that was last year. Trevor鈥檚 a tough guy and he bounced back. I know he鈥檚 excited to go out there and play to the best of his ability and go from there.鈥
Al-Shaair, who said he was in a 鈥渞eally dark place鈥 during the suspension and wondered if he鈥檇 ever play again, still seems disappointed about how he was characterized. NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan said the defender鈥檚 鈥渓ack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football鈥 was troubling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a personal thing in a way because it鈥檚 just about the credibility of my name,” Al-Shaair said. “But I guess that鈥檚 more just how I attack the whole season because obviously that was a league-wide thing that they tried to make me out to be somebody that I wasn鈥檛.
“For me, I鈥檝e just kind of been trying to prove a point every single week of who I am, and I play hard, but I play the game the right way, so that鈥檚 just what I鈥檓 going to keep doing.鈥
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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.
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