Houston Texans

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair says if people want to make him a bad guy, he'll show them a bad guy ... sharing a message about going full "villain" mode after his suspension was upheld.

The NFL announced Al-Shaair's appeal was denied on Wednesday ... meaning he will serve his full three-game ban for his controversial hit on Trevor Lawrence during Sunday's game, which ultimately landed the quarterback on Injured Reserve.

Shortly after the league's decision was made public, Al-Shaair went to social media to weigh in ... and while he initially apologized for the entire incident on Monday, he's no longer trying to defend his name -- instead, he's leaning into the new narrative.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio is sticking up for Azeez Al-Shaair following his controversial hit on Trevor Lawrence ... saying the NFL "embarrassed" itself with how it handled the incident.

Caserio met with reporters Tuesday morning ... and took issue with not only the three-game suspension handed down hours ago -- but also how the Shield took aim at Al-Shaair's character in a letter written by VP of Football Operations Jon Runyan.

"For the league to make some of the commentary that he made about lack of sportsmanship, lack of coachability, lack of paying attention to the rules, quite frankly, it's embarrassing," Caserio said.

The NFL just threw the book at Texans star Azeez Al-Shaair for his Sunday hit on Trevor Lawrence ... suspending him without pay for THREE GAMES.

The league made its ruling official on Tuesday morning ... saying his past offenses for "personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations" factored into the decision.

NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan scolded the Houston linebacker in a strongly-worded letter when announcing the ban for lowering his shoulder and hitting Lawrence in the head as the Jaguars QB was sliding during their weekend tilt in Jacksonville.

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is issuing a mea culpa to Trevor Lawrence over his controversial hit on Sunday ... saying he never intended to hurt the Jaguars quarterback -- and calling out "racist" and "Islamophobic" fans in the process.

The 27-year-old released the statement on X ... claiming while he always plays with intensity, he doesn't purposely try to take anyone out of competition.

"My goal is to hit you as hard as I can then I pray you're still able to get up and play the next play," he said. "And when the game is over go home to your family unharmed because it's not personal it's just competition!"

Peyton Manning wasn't all that impressed with Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul .... 'cause the Hall of Fame signal-caller took a shot at the fight during the Cowboys-Texans "Monday Night Football" game!

The roasting happened during the "ManningCast" ... when a skirmish broke out in the first quarter of the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Bill Belichick, a weekly guest on the show, mentioned the stadium hosted a big fight on Friday ... Tyson vs. Paul, which went down at Jerry's World, too.

Manning laughed ... and offered this quip back.

AT&T Stadium is undergoing some changes after all -- but its got nothing to do with a tarp blocking the sun -- 'cause a massive piece of roof fell ahead of the Texans-Cowboys Monday Night Football game.

It happened on Monday afternoon as the retractable domed roof was opening a couple of hours before kickoff in Arlington, TX ... so fans could enjoy the night sky for the first time in two years.

Unfortunately, while the roof was opening, a humongous piece from the roof fell ... which was then documented by several reporters who shared photos and video of the big hunk of sheet metal as it lay on the sidelines.

Thankfully, no one was injured.

Beyonce is delivering a gift to her gazillion fans during the holiday season ... the singer is set to perform during the halftime show of an NFL game on Christmas Day.

On Sunday night, Netflix and Queen Bey announced she will be the star attraction at halftime as the Houston Texans go head-to-head with the Baltimore Ravens.

A promo video shows Bey decked out in a sexy red-white-and-blue outfit, standing on the hood of a car.

Aaron Rodgers is putting to bed any rumors he was shaded by Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans following the Jets 21-17 win on Thursday night ... saying the two dapped each other up -- the cameras just missed it!

Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee Show Friday morning ... where good buddy A.J. Hawk asked whether there was any beef between the two men after video began circulating online seemingly showing Ryans ignoring Rodgers after the clock hit 00:00.

Some fans speculated the alleged beef was due to AR's relationship with fired Jets HC, Robert Saleh, who is friends with DeMeco.

The 39-year-old was confused at first ... clearly not aware of the controversy. Then the guys pulled up the clip.

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets kept their season on life support with a big win over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans ... and the MVP of the game?? Well, it wasn't a player or coach ... it was water with cayenne pepper!

Rodgers (as he's pretty accustomed to) made news this week when he revealed he'd discovered "a little fountain of youth" with the drink, saying he added it to his rehab regimen for his ruptured Achilles.

Well, after Gang Green's 21-17 win over the current AFC South leaders, Rodgers and the teammate who recommended the drink to him, punter Thomas Morstead, posed together for a picture!

Adam Schefter had football fans in a tizzy after being accused of using an illegal streaming site to watch "Thursday Night Football" ... but sure enough, it wasn't what it looked like.

The longtime ESPN talent posted a clip of Jets receiver Malachi Corley's bone-headed fumble during the second quarter of New York's matchup with the Houston Texans ... but instead of focusing on the lowlight, folks noticed a MethStreams watermark in the top left corner of the video.

Naturally, that led people to assume Schefty didn't have an Amazon Prime membership and wanted to use other means to tune in to the action ... which would be a bad look for one of the biggest insiders in the league.

Deshaun Watson's more focused on counting his money than throwing touchdowns ... so says ex-Cleveland Browns GM Michael Lombardi, who tells TMZ Sports the quarterback is "horrible" and lacks motivation after securing a massive guaranteed contract.

It's no secret -- Watson's been a shell of himself during his time in Cleveland ... with most members of the Dawg Pound begging the team to end their misery and bench the guy.

We asked Lombardi -- who served as general manager for the team from 2013 to 2014 -- what he thinks happened to Watson ... and he believes the $230 million he inked killed the version he was while a member of the Houston Texans.

A lot more than a win was on the line when Ka'imi Fairbairn nailed a 59-yard field goal to help the Houston Texans beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday ... 'cause one die-hard fan vowed to free the nip if her team came out on top -- and she stayed true to her word!!

X user @sourpatchkidsx made the X-rated promise during the first quarter of the matchup ... when C.J. Stroud and Co. held onto a 7-3 lead.

"if texans win i’ll show t**s," the passionate backer said.

The sports world is mourning the passing of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo ... and some basketball figures gave their reactions in real time at media day activities on Monday -- including Raptors team president Masai Ujiri, who was devastated by the news.

The longtime exec. went before reporters to passionately explain how much Mutombo meant not just to him and the sport ... but to the world.

"It's really hard to believe," he said as he held back tears. "It's hard for us to be without [Dikembe Mutombo]. You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me. It's a tough one."

Houston Texans star wideout Tank Dell is opening up about the shooting that almost derailed his sophomore season in the NFL ... saying the incident was simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As we previously reported, Dell was wounded after gunfire broke out at a Florida nightclub back in April ... which was sparked by a verbal altercation between a 16-year-old and another individual at the club.

Dell was hit during the incident ... and suffered minor injuries.

NFL star Tank Dell is looking damn near 100% just three weeks after suffering injuries in a nightclub shooting ... rejoining his Houston Texans teammates and crushing it during Tuesday's practice.

No. 3 was front and center during organized team activities ... even taking passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud at one point.

There were no signs of injury or anything else holding him back ... which is a great sign, considering what he went through last month -- as well as during the 2023-24 season.