HOUSTON -- Former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon's phone buzzed shortly after the Houston Texans shut out his old team in Week 4.
When he looked down, he saw a message from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair -- a quick note letting Carthon, who was fired by Tennessee in January after just two seasons, know that he still had his back.
But that's Al-Shaair.
And even though Carthon isn't bitter about his exit in Tennessee, the gesture was received.
"He's family to me," Al-Shaair told ESPN. "I just talked to him last week. I know his kids, I know his wife. He knows my family, my mother. It's a true connection."
It's a connection that shows another side of Al-Shaair, and one that goes back to 2019, when the two were with the San Francisco 49ers before Carthon brought the linebacker to Nashville with him for one season when he took the GM job.
That connection and side of Al-Shaair can also be seen and heard in a viral clip that surfaced on social media after the Texans' 26-15 win over the 49ers in Week 8 where the linebacker is mic'd up. One that the average person doesn't get to see on a day-to-day basis. It was a montage of an ultimate competitor that showed sportsmanship, warmth and appreciation for opponents. It represents a stark contrast to the image and reputation Al-Shaair gained following his Week 13 ejection against the Jacksonville Jaguars last season after delivering a devastating blow to the face mask of Trevor Lawrence as the quarterback slid to the ground.
Azeez Al-Shaair showing respect to his opponents:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) October 28, 2025
Tells CMC "good run boy, you run hard as hell, keep going."
Tells Mac Jones "keep fighting boy, you a dog."
Accidentally pokes George Kittle in the eye and immediately apologizes, the two joke and go back and forth all game.... pic.twitter.com/cAqsUzFKu3
Al-Shaair was suspended for three games, and Lawrence was lost for the season as a result.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans publicly defended Al-Shaair, as did his teammates. But that didn't stop Al-Shaair from taking to social media to issue an apology.
"To Trevor i genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening," Al-Shaair wrote. "Before the game we spoke and I told you how great it was to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that was ruled 'late' or 'unnecessary.'"
The typically jovial Al-Shaair said he was in a "really dark place" and wondered if he'd play football again after the suspension.
"The things that you can think when somebody says they're in a dark place, as dark as you can go is where I was truthfully," he said at the time.
But fast-forward to almost a year later and Al-Shaair, who leads Houston in tackles with 59, is back to helping opponents off the ground and showing appreciation to them. He can even be heard in the viral clip telling quarterback Mac Jones, who was playing in place of the injured Brock Purdy, "Keep fighting, boy. You a dog."
The clip may be a surprise to some, but his teammates and coaches see that side of Al-Shaair every day.
OVER A MILLION views later, Al-Shaair still hasn't watched the viral video -- even though friends and family have mentioned it to him.
The one-minute, 28-second clip captures precisely what Ryans often praises: Al-Shaair's steady, uplifting presence and meaningful impact on the locker room.
"Azeez is the glue. He's the heartbeat," Ryans said. "He keeps this thing together. Without him, I'm not sure where we would be. I love the person who he is and how he's grown and matured. I'm thankful that he's here in our locker room. The man that he is and what he stands for, what he represents, there's not a better guy, I would say, in this league than Azeez."
Al-Shaair is known as a physical player, which has led to occasional fines and penalties. But his teammates view him as one of the nicest people they've ever played with.
"He'll take his own jacket off, even if it's his last jacket, to make sure you're good," linebacker Henry To'oTo'o told ESPN. "Personally, he's just always been there for me, the good and the bad times. When he says he loves you, that means he really loves you."
Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins remembers his first conversation with Al-Shaair. It occurred in the locker room after a minicamp practice, and a couple of conversation starters later, a full room turned into a ghost town.
"We sat for 90 minutes by ourselves," Rankins told ESPN. "Everybody had already cleared out before we knew it. We were like, 'Yeah, man, we should probably just go home now.' Great conversation. And at that moment, I'm like, 'He's actually a really great dude.' We've been boys ever since."
Al-Shaair's benevolent personality stems from his childhood, most notably by how he dealt with homelessness when his family's house burned down in 2012. He learned how precious life can be and how to appreciate those around him.
"[I get my personality] from my mother, my background going through all my own things that I've been through," Al-Shaair said. "Whether it's you doing your job or me doing my job, we're both still just humans. I try to be mindful of other people. I just never know what somebody's going through."
WHEN THE BACKLASH from the incident involving Lawrence spread like wildfire, Al-Shaair admitted the criticism was challenging. His social media accounts were flooded with critical comments about his character.
What bothered him the most, though, was how Jon Runyan, the NFL's vice president of policy and rules administration, characterized him. It included Runyan telling Al-Shaair: "Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL."
Al-Shaair feels the descriptions and the fallout from that one play with Lawrence have overcast him as a player. And as a result, he feels he has lost the assumption of innocence in 50/50 situations.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud was knocked out of the Week 9 game against the Denver Broncos in a similar situation, and the Texans will start Davis Mills for a second straight game as Stroud remains in concussion protocol.
Al-Shaair mentioned that if he was the one who delivered that blow to Stroud the reaction would have been drastically different.
"I don't get the benefit of the doubt. The play that happened with C.J., I couldn't even imagine if that was me," Al-Shaair told ESPN while laughing. "If I did something like what that kid did to C.J. ... bruh.
"I'm happy that the kid didn't get treated the way I did. It was just a football play."
The hit on Lawrence is a play that's ingrained in Al-Shaair's story, but for the Texans, he is a captain for a reason.
"Azeez is an exceptionally kind person, and caring person, and very empathetic," defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. "I think that that perception of him is how he plays and his style of football, however people categorize that, is one way. But anyone, [media] included, that has gotten to know him as a person, as a man, has nothing but great things to say about him and the work he does in the community and the work he does in the locker room and with younger players and everybody. It's exceptional."
On the field, Al-Shaair is a big part of why Houston has one of the best defenses in the league. The unit has allowed the fewest points (16.7 per game) and yards (261.3) in the NFL. And now, the Texans (4-5) head to Nashville to face the Titans (1-8) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
It'll be another chance for Al-Shaair to have Carthon's back. It'll also be another opponent where Al-Shaair will be the same person he is -- game in and game out.
"I really tried to stay off social media now, after all of the stuff from last year, but people kept bringing that video up to me," Al-Shaair said Thursday of the viral video. "Even some of my family was like, 'Man, you be hitting people so hard. I didn't think that you really got up and tell them all the [nice] things that you tell them.' I mean, that's how I am, honestly, every game."