HOUSTON – Week two of the NFL season will be a special one, not just for Houston Texans fans who want to see them bounce back after losing 14-9 to the Los Angeles Rams, but also for linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
The Tampa-born captain of the defense will get to play against his hometown team, and when speaking with us today, he shared how he helps regulate the team’s emotions, being an “emotional regulator.”
But what does it take to be a regulator?
“Nothing that I don’t already do on a day-to-day basis,” said Al-Shaair. “Kinda like an emotional regulator, kinda managing the different emotions between myself, but also coaches, players, everybody involved, because it’s gameday, everybody is amped up, turnt up, I am too. But just trying to keep everybody together, making sure we’re picking guys up who might be down and calming guys down who might be too up.”
When we moved from the locker room to the press conference, we asked Head Coach DeMeco Ryans how he feels about Al-Shaair being the emotional regulator of the team.
“Azeez has matured so much as a leader for me,” said Ryans. “Working with Azeez as a rookie in 2019 and where he is now, I’ve seen so much growth, so much leadership. If you want somebody to talk to the team, he’s the guy. So if it’s the emotional regulator, he does that, he has a really great pulse of the locker room, he can give you some philosophy, he’s a wise young man, and I’m happy to have him in our locker room where he can guide a lot of our players.”
Breaking down #Texans injuries (Cade Stover, hairline fracture of foot, out indefinitely), Jake Andrews (high-ankle sprain).
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 9, 2025
State of team.
Nico Collins and Azeez Al-Shaair with @KPRCNick @KPRC2 before #Buccaneers #MNF at NRG Stadium.
Plus, DeMeco Ryans and Collins weigh in pic.twitter.com/2oQbjCfoY9
Kickoff for the Texans’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is set for 6 p.m. local time.