This past Sunday, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence took a brutal blow to the head from Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
As Lawrence gave himself up on a QB slide, Al-Shaair lowered his shoulder and delivered an illegal hit to the head.
Lawrence immediately went into the "fencing response," indicating a traumatic brain injury. He was then carted off the field and quickly ruled out with a concussion.
Several of Lawrence's teammates came to his defense after this brutal hit, including tight end Evan Engram. The Jacksonville pass-catcher immediately jumped on Al-Shaair and pushed him down on the EverBank Stadium turf.
On Saturday, the NFL announced a $11,255 fine for Engram for his role in the incident.
This punishment decision sparked controversy around the NFL world.
"So he was fined for doing the right thing? Got it," one fan wrote.
"He should appeal. If it's upheld, I wouldn't have a problem if that was crowd funded. You have to stand up for your teammate there," another said.
"If I were the Jags I’d have fined him more than that for NOT jumping Al-Shaair," another added.
"It was a dirty hit," Engram said after the Jaguars' Week 13 loss. "Obviously those hits are always in question. Trevor was going down and I saw it out of my peripheral. I got a pretty clear view of it, and in that moment, just [reacted on] instincts. It just didn't feel like a clean hit, so just go stick up for my quarterback.
"I mean, I saw him sliding and then I saw the hit, and then just, honestly, it just took over. I just knew it was wrong. It was just a dirty play, and you stick up for your guys."
Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and hit with a three-game suspension without pay. The Jaguars placed Lawrence on the injured reserve, likely ending his 2024 NFL season.
Jacksonville will face off against the Tennessee Titans in a Week 14 matchup on Sunday afternoon.
