Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence prepares to meet Azeez Al-Shaair at the coin toss. This event will be held right before their home opener on Sunday against the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium. This meeting marks a significant moment as it comes nearly a year after Al-Shaair’s controversial hit on Lawrence, which ended the quarterback’s 2024 season.
In December 2023, Al-Shaair with a game-changing shot to Lawrence’s helmet while he was on the ground. This impact resulted in a concussion which put Lawrence on injured reserve only three days later. That last hit proved to be the impact that took the young gunslinger out. It resulted in an intense second-half fight between the two teams where Al-Shaair got ejected from the game and later suspended for three games.
As Lawrence readies to meet his future on the field once again, he’s played up the importance of their matchup. His answer was that he doesn’t play the long game, he plays the short game.
“[Nothing] outside of a normal what I would do if whoever was out there for the coin toss,” – Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence’s teammates have sung the same tune from Lawrence’s song book, making it clear they are focused on this season and not on what happened before. Tight end Brenton Strange stated, “I think we [are] worried about this year. Obviously, we want to go out there and beat the Texans, and we’re going to do everything that we can to do that, but we’re worried about this year and that’s it.”
Left tackle Cam Robinson, one of the cornerstones of the Jaguars’ offense line, alluded to the intensity and emotion felt during that crazy matchup a year ago. And most importantly, he recognized that your basic instinct is to protect your fellow drivers. Don’t get caught up in the past, he said.
“Obviously, you don’t want to see your teammates get hit, so obviously the emotions were high. But at the end of the day, man, that was last year. Trevor’s a tough guy and he bounced back.” – Josh Hines-Allen
This week’s game is extra special, though. Lawrence comes back from a two-game absence with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Yet he comes back not only with high hopes, but impressive drive to play the best of his potential.
Lawrence’s head coach, Liam Coen, insisted that the quarterback hasn’t brought up last season’s freak injury since returning. Coen expressed confidence in Lawrence’s resilience.
“If [Al-Shaair’s hit is] on our minds, then we’re probably thinking about the wrong things right now,” – Liam Coen
Al-Shaair has been upfront about the backlash and criticism he’s received since the hit, and says he still gets a negative reception from fans.
“I’ve gotten all type of crazy stuff since that day, and I still get it to this day from people, just in general,” – Azeez Al-Shaair
You can feel the excitement for Sunday’s matchup against the Texans. The match will be aired nationally on CBS, starting at 1 p.m. ET. The Jaguars certainly seem ready to harness their newfound energy and motivation into competing in this sellers vs. buyers showdown.
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