 Al-Shaair in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| No. 2 – Tennessee Titans | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | August 4, 1997 Tampa, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Hillsborough (Tampa, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Florida Atlantic (2015–2018) | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Azeez Al-Shaair (born August 4, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida Atlantic.
Al-Shaair was born in Tampa, Florida and moved back and forth between Tampa and Saudi Arabia, where his father worked as an English instructor, as a young child until his parents divorced. He lived in Section 8 and became homeless as a sophomore in high school after his home burned down. He commuted two hours by bus from a motel to Hillsborough High School, where he played football.[1] As a senior, he made 126 tackles with 6.5 sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries and also blocked six field goals and a blocked punt and was named first-team All-County.[2] Al-Shaair committed to play college football at Florida Atlantic University going into his senior year, but continued to go on recruiting visits in order to help feed his family.[3]
Al-Shaair was a four year starter at linebacker for the Florida Atlantic Owls. As a freshman, Al-Shaair was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team and named a Freshman All-American after recording a team-leading 94 tackles (7.5 for loss), 1.5 sacks, two passes broken up and a forced fumble.[4] He again led the Owls in tackles as a sophomore with 113 (12 for loss) and returned an interception for a touchdown and was named honorable mention All-Conference USA.[5] As a junior, Al-Shaair led Conference USA with 147 tackles (11 for loss) along with 2.5 sacks, four passes defensed and a forced fumble and was named first-team all conference. He entered his senior year on the Butkus Award watchlist but tore his ACL in an October practice, ending his final season after six games.[6][7]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+5⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
234 lb (106 kg) |
32+3⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
16 reps | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Al-Shaair was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2019.[10] Al-Shaair made his NFL debut in the season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing exclusively on special teams and making two tackles in the 31-17 road victory.[11] The 49ers reached Super Bowl LIV, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31–20.[12] He did not appear in any postseason games. Al-Shaair played in 15 games with four starts as a rookie, making 18 tackles.[13]
In Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football in 2020, Al-Shaair recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Carson Wentz during the 25–20 loss.[14]
Al-Shaair entered the 2021 season as a starting linebacker for the 49ers. He started 13 games, finishing second on the team with 102 tackles, along with two sacks, five passes defensed, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.[15]
On March 15, 2022, the 49ers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Al-Shaair.[16] He was placed on injured reserve with an MCL sprain on October 3, 2022.[17] He was activated on November 12.[18]
On March 20, 2023, Al-Shaair signed a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans.[19] He started all 17 games and finished fifth in the league with 163 tackles.
Al-Shaair is a practicing Muslim and fasts during Ramadan, including when he was participating in FAU's summer practices.[20]