While many are wondering whether the NFL’s three-game suspension for Azeez Al-Shaair was too harsh, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo went an entirely different direction.
Al-Shaair delivered a vicious on Trevor Lawrence that forced the Jaguars quarterback to be carted off the field Sunday afternoon during the Houston Texans’ 23-20 win in Jacksonville. The NFL responded by suspending Al-Shaair for three games, a suspension the Texans linebacker will appeal. Wednesday morning, however, Russo stunned Stephen A. Smith by calling for a much harsher penalty during his weekly appearance on ESPN’s First Take.
“I’d throw the player out for the rest of the year. What a rough, nasty, garbage hit. That guy’s a clown for hitting him like that.” – Chris Russo pic.twitter.com/lEBeE8wflz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 4, 2024
“I’d throw the player out for the rest of the year,” Russo said to shock Smith. “What a rough, nasty, garbage hit. That guy’s a clown for hitting him like that. And he thinks his big deal is, ‘I sent him an apology via X.’ Did you send the apology when he was in the hospital, not moving?! Think about this, he threw his arm in there, his head and then he gets ticked off and takes his helmet off. This is a nasty, nasty, nasty play, I was totally down on this guy.”
Russo proceeded to rip Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans for seemingly faulting Lawrence for not sliding early enough to avoid the collision. For what it’s worth, Tom Brady didn’t necessarily disagree with Ryans, similarly claiming quarterbacks have to take better care of themselves.
“The guy couldn’t move for five minutes for crying out loud!” Russo continued. “Because this idiot thinks he’s Doug Plank? Look him up! I mean, it drove me crazy! That was a sick, nasty, ugly…and good for the NFL suspending him. I would’ve suspended him longer!”
Labeling Al-Shaair a “clown” and “idiot” seems a bit harsh, so does calling for him to be suspended for the rest of the season. It was an ugly, illegal hit on Lawrence. And considering the optics and the fact that this wasn’t a first offense for Al-Shaair, a suspension was probably warranted. But there has to be some acknowledgement of it being difficult for a defensive player to slam on the brakes after a quarterback already established themselves as a runner.
