Houston Texans Extend Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair with Three-Year Deal

The Houston Texans and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair have reached agreement on a three-year contract extension, according to NFL Network. Financial terms of the contract weren't immediately known. He was set to enter the final season of a three-year contract with the Texans that he signed in free agency in 2024 and had no guaranteed money left on that deal. It's the second significant extension handed out by the Texans to a key member of their defense, which finished ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season. The Texans signed star defensive end Will Anderson Jr. to a three-year, $150 million extension earlier this month to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Al-Shaair, 28, was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season, during which he had 103 tackles in 16 games for the Texans. He made headlines in 2024 when he was ejected from a game for a violent hit to Trevor Lawrence that left the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback with a concussion. Al-Shaair hit Lawrence in the face mask just after Lawrence initiated a slide. Al-Shaair, who was suspended for three games for the hit, apologized to Lawrence. Al-Shaair was the Texans' Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last season for his work in the Houston community.