Azeez Al-Shaair has been fined every single season since 2020. His latest five-figure fine of $17,911 for a hit on Josh Downs could have triggered an immediate suspension, but a new 2026 NFLPA rule gave him a clean slate and prevented a suspension.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“The NFL fined Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair $17,911 for this hit on Colts WR Josh Downs last week,” reported NFL insider Tom Pelissero on October 3.
Al-Shaair was fined for an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit against the Indianapolis Colts, which was deemed unnecessary roughness by the league. The incident occurred late in the first quarter this past weekend, when veteran linebacker Al-Shaair went in for a tackle on Colts receiver Josh Downs. Although the hit was not flagged, it drew attention following the game.
Al-Shaair might have dealt with the financial penalty, but the risk of suspension carried a heavy impact. After all, the NFL is very particular when it comes to disciplining players. But they decided not to consider the prior disciplinary history.
“Previously, Al-Shaair could’ve been suspended as a repeat offender. But under the new NFL-NFLPA agreement, all players started 2026 with a clean slate, so this is just strike one,” reported Pelissero.
In the past, the NFL reviewed a player’s behavior over a rolling 34-game regular-season window when deciding whether to issue a larger fine or discretionary suspension, covering roughly two seasons. But Al-Shaair benefited this season as the NFLPA introduced a three-strike system that triggers an automatic one-game suspension for repeat offenders.
To improve player safety, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to suspend players after three offenses involving penalties such as hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players, and blindside blocks.
In August, the league declared that all players are beginning 2026 with a “clean slate” and will have a “clearer and faster path to reducing the impact of prior offenses than under the previous system.”
The NFL and NFLPA created this three-strike system to give clear rules for player safety and stop long, open-ended suspensions for old mistakes. Under this new setup, every player across the league started 2026 with zero strikes. Al-Shaair is not the only player to benefit, but his long history of fines makes him one of the biggest names saved by the clean slate. Had it been the old system, Al-Shaair might have been sidelined by now.
Al-Shaair’s disciplinary history includes several helmet-related violations. In 2020, he was disciplined twice for illegal use of the helmet, including a $4,000 fine that was reduced to $3,200 on appeal. In 2021, he was disciplined four times for the same violation without receiving a fine, before being fined $41,200 on another occasion.
Al-Shaair was then fined $11,139 for fighting in 2022, a penalty that was later reduced to $8,911 on appeal. The 2023 season came with a $13,934 fine for a blow to the head/neck of a quarterback, while in 2024 he was fined on three occasions.
Al-Shaair’s disciplinary history that season included a Week 2 sideline altercation with the Chicago Bears, for which he was fined $11,817, and a Week 12 hit on Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard out of bounds. In 2024 itself, Al-Shaair faced a three-game suspension for repeated violations of player safety rules after his hit to Trevor Lawrence’s head. The 2025 season, too, came with three fines.
Beyond player safety violations, Al-Shaair was fined twice for his eye-black messages during the Texans’ last five games, with each fine exceeding $11,000. His Week 1 message against the Buffalo Bills read “Hind Rajab,” honoring the 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed during the Gaza war in 2024. In the Wild Card round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was fined again for writing “Stop the Genocide.”
With a long list of on-field hits and off-field fine controversies, Al-Shaair’s repeat violations have drawn continuous league scrutiny. While the NFLPA’s clean-slate rule saved Al-Shaair from a suspension, he will still miss the Dallas game due to a groin injury from Week 3, not a league penalty.
NFLPA’s new system could not stop Azeez Al-Shaair from missing games against Dallas
When it comes to Al-Shaair, the team captain is the emotional leader of the team. It was difficult for the Texans as they received the bad news when the team announced that the Pro Bowl linebacker will be sidelined during the Dallas Cowboys’ face-off due to a groin injury he suffered during their 19-17 loss to the Colts in Week 3.
Indeed, tough news for the Texans. After all, Al-Shaair has been the trusted weapon who has served as Houston’s green dot since joining the team in 2024. He currently leads the team with 31 total tackles, including 13 solo stops, this season.
“When you lose a guy like Azeez, who does command a lot of communication and takes a lot of that on game day,” shared defensive coordinator Matt Burke. “We’ve tried to be really urgent, and the guys have responded to how we’re doing that. I’m excited for those guys to get an opportunity to go show what they’re about.”
According to head coach DeMeco Ryans, he is considered “week-to-week,” making his return timeline unclear beyond Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.