When the Jacksonville Jaguars faced the Houston Texans in 2024, Azeez Al-Shaair laid a vicious hit on Trevor Lawrence that knocked him out. At the time, DeMeco Ryans blamed the Jags quarterback for leaving himself exposed. This makes his recent comments feel hypocritical.
During Week 9, quarterback C.J. Stroud got hit during a slide. This made Ryans cry foul, but observers were quick to rightly bring in receipts.
DeMeco Ryans isn't thrilled that C.J. Stroud got hit
DeMeco Ryans met with reporters after the Texans' loss and said that the hit on C.J. Stroud deserved to be flagged, noting that his players have been previously penalized for it.
C.J. scrambled. Of course, he tried to, he slid, and the guy came up and hit him," Ryans said after the game. "I see it, it's unnecessary roughness. He hit the quarterback when he's sliding and giving himself up. If I'm incorrect in the rule, I've seen it happen multiple times with our guys. We get the penalty. But for some reason, it didn't happen there."
That's an odd thing to say when you take into account that he blamed Trevor Lawrence for getting knocked out, arguing that quarterbacks try to take advantage of the rules to gain extra yards and going as far as saying that the Jaguars overreacted.
Something lost on Ryans is that Kris Abrams-Draine, who hit C.J. Stroud, doesn't have a history of being a dirty player or a track record of getting fined. Moreover, he wasn't going for the head or leading with his helmet like Azeez Al-Shaair has previously done.
Simply, Ryans is feeling outraged because it happened to his player. He's proven that he won't hesitate to pin the blame on an opposing quarterback if Al-Shaair or any of his guys were behind the hit.
For the sake of clarity, nobody's celebrating or advocating for Stroud to get hit. The point is that Ryans' latest remarks don't match his past stance on Lawrence.
The Jaguars may not face C.J. Stroud when they face the Texans
Following the loss to the Broncos, the Texans placed C.J. Stroud on the concussion protocol. Given the uncertain nature of the injury, he might not sit out the next game but could also miss several weeks. This is noteworthy because the Jaguars are next on Houston's schedule.
The Jaguars are coming off a last-minute win vs. the Raiders, so they would get a much-needed break if Stroud isn't good to go in Week 10. If the Ohio State product misses the bout, 2021 third-round pick Davis Mills will get the starting nod.
That would give the Jags an edge. Having said that, they cannot just rest on their laurels and expect to come out of the game with a win. Their odds of trouncing the Texans will increase if they can cut down on the penalties, an issue that has plagued them all season long.
For the time being, though, the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence should feel a bit of justice after watching DeMeco Ryans complain about his quarterback getting hit.