Arik Armstead approves of Azeez Al-Shaair's supervillain arc after Jaguars brawl

The dirty hit Azeez Al-Shaair laid on Trevor Lawrence and the subsequent brawl between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans have taken center stage in the NFL news cycle.

Lawrence suffered a concussion and has landed on Injury Reserve, ensuring that he'll miss the next four games, and likely the rest of the season. On the other hand, Al-Shaair earned a three-game suspension for the cheap shot and has gone full supervillain because of it.

Not long after the NFL announced that Al-Shaair was getting a suspension, he appealed it. NFL hearing officer Ramon Foster reviewed the case and upheld it. It doesn't look like the Texans linebacker was thrilled with the outcome, as he posted on social media message that included a poster of The Joker saying, "If you want him to be your villain, he'll be your villain."

You could argue that he hadn't been suspended too much and the punishment the league laid was too heavy. But the truth is that he was fined for punching Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson in Week 2. In the same game, he hit quarterback Caleb Williams, so there's clearly a history of crossing the line.

That's precisely the argument NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan laid when imposing the suspension.

Leaving aside how Al-Shaair feels about the suspension, there's nothing he can do and he'll miss the next three games. That said, the story isn't over. Not long after the linebacker posted his message on Instagram, Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead liked it.

That's odd when you take into account that Al-Shaair knocked Armstead's quarterback out, and the hit led to a scuffle between Jaguars and Texans players. How can you commend an opponent for hurting one of your own?

This may make sense when you take into account that Al-Shaair and Armstead were teammates for four years with the San Francisco 49ers. Either way, the optics don't look great.

Azeez Al-Shaair must take the L after the scuffle with the Jaguars and move on

Following the brawl, Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said that the Jacksonville Jaguars blew the whole thing out of proportion, but they are the ones making a big deal out of it. Instead of conceding that Azeez Al-Shaar made a play that has no place in the NFL, and the suspension that followed, they're making it seem like they were the victims in the ordeal. They were not.

Sure, Al-Shaair received hate messages because of his religion, and that's uncalled for. If you want to criticize him, do it because he delivered a cheap shot. Heck, Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun did the right thing by saying that his opponent wasn't a dirty player but the hit that gave Trevor Lawrence a concussion was most definitely a dirty play. That's how you approach the situation.

The bottom line is that Al-Shaair is overreacting to something he created. If he doesn't want the be under the spotlight, maybe he should avoid playing dirty. That way, nobody will call him a dirty player. More importantly, by playing within the rules, he will avoid getting suspended.

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