JACKSONVILLE – Look-ahead Wednesday – with a little look back on the eventful events of the last two days.

Let's get to it …

Michael from Orange Park, FL

The NFL missed on this one. Soft. Very soft.

I'll presume you're referencing the NFL on Tuesday suspending Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair three games without pay for his hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in a Texans victory at EverBank Stadium Sunday. The league without question considered this a very serious – and unusually egregious – incident. NFL vice president of policy and rules administration Jon Runyan in a letter to Al-Shaair called Al-Shaair's actions "unacceptable" and a "serious violation." Also from the letter: "Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL. Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated." Those are strong words. My thought was that Al-Shaair indeed could have been suspended for the rest of the regular season considering the nature of the hit and considering his history with suspect on-field incidents. At the same time, three games without pay is a significant amount in the context of NFL punishment. It's nearly a fifth of the NFL season. This was severe by NFL standards. It will never feel like enough to Jaguars fans. It will feel like too much from the Texans' point of view. From this view, it could have been more, but this punishment probably was as much as could be expected.

Tony from Johns Creek, GA

O, DeMeco Ryans should be suspended! Watch the replay. Ryans' demeanor and how he's trying to console his hitman is telling. Smug at best.

I didn't remotely agree with Houston Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans' sentiments in his next-day press conference Monday that the Jaguars overreacted by confronting Al-Shaair in violent fashion. My thought on that was that Ryans in his heart knows better but felt the need to back his player. I also wasn't crazy about his suggestion that somehow Lawrence was taking advantage of rules by sliding too late. While it is tough in this era for defenders to know when to hit a sliding quarterback, it's not tough to know not to hit a defenseless player with a forearm. Either way, the NFL can't and shouldn't suspend Ryans for "demeanor" when trying to get Al-Shaair off the field Sunday.

Jim from St. Augustine, FL

Not enough!

One fer a longer suspension, evidently.

Vince from Farmington, NM

Mighty O. Many of us waited to see the fine on Sunday's upsetting play by Al-Shaair. The league decided a three-game suspension was in order, and whether or not that is appropriate, there is something else wrong here. Al-Shaair has a $34 million contract, so on the surface it would seem that the cost for this act would be $6 million. Because of the way the contract is structured, it seems like he is also shielded from fines, as most of the contract is signing bonuses and guaranteed money, and very little left to salary. That $6m would deter this kind of behavior in the future, but $325k is a big dinner out to some of these guys. It seems like this is insult to injury.

The actual amount is amount $256,000. That's not nothing to NFL players, but it doesn't quite seem enough in this case.

Julio from Derry

After reading the statement the NFL sent, I don't understand how it's only a three-game suspension.

Three games are a lot by NFL standards.

Brad from Yankton, S.D.

The Texans General Manager Nick Caserio, this guy needs to be fined and suspended by the NFL!!

Caserio, the Texans' general manager, indeed followed Ryans' lead by defending Al-Shaair Tuesday. He did so passionately, perhaps correctly noting that the league isn't always consistent in punishments. Some of this lack of consistency is because it's difficult to compare the level of egregiousness. But while Caserio – like Ryans – has to defend his player, his comments to the media Tuesday were from this view as surprising and disappointing as Ryans' on Monday. Caserio noted in his comments that Al-Shaair was at a United Way event Tuesday morning, which means we know what Al-Shaair was doing Tuesday. We also know what he was doing in the second quarter Sunday, which was egregious enough to warrant at least the punishment administered by the NFL. It's fine for the Texans know Al-Shaair's character. That's their approach. It's also fine for the league to handle matters as it did Tuesday.

Doug from Jax Beach

It's not enough, but if the S/B does it again, it will be for a year!!

I expect that's true.

Jerry from Palatka, FL

Are you a little stunned that the Texans are doubling down like this?

A little, yes.

Kathy from Palm Coast, FL

I know you are a Jaguars employee but your constant defending of the undefendable is getting ridiculous. Trevor should never have been in the game, Cam should not have been dumped, Little did nothing to deserve his contract, the play calling is terrible, we are killing a talented rookie,…..Why do you defend this? I would love to hear what you really think .

Lawrence played Sunday because he wanted to play and because he was healthy enough to play – and his left-shoulder injury was unrelated to the hit he received Sunday. Is he never supposed to play again? The Jaguars traded left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings early this season because his contract was running out this season – though I said and wrote multiple times that I wouldn't have traded Robinson. I didn't love re-signing left tackle Walker Little, though I did note in Monday's O-Zone that it made sense considering the player, the left tackles available next offseason and the left-tackle market. I don't believe the Jaguars' play-calling is terrible, though I do believe it's hard to call plays at a high level when you can't run block and don't have enough playmakers at receiver. I don't have any idea what killing a talented rookie means.

Sal from Austin, TX

Before the dirty hit that scumbag put on Lawrence, he looked as bad as we've ever seen him. The layoff and the injury I'm sure played a role, but 4 for 10 with a 12 quarterback rating, what are odds he gets placed on injured reserve?

If Lawrence gets placed on injured reserve, it won't be because of his statistics against the Texans. It will be because of his health situation. And the layoff and injury certainly played a role in his performance Sunday.

James from Socorro, NM

Caserio stated that Azeez Al-Shaair "represents everything we want this program to be about." Injuring opponents bad enough to get suspended by the league is what they want the Texans to be about? Am I missing something through my teal-colored glasses?

Apparently not.

CJ from Fernandina

After this injury to Trevor, the way the season has gone I think at this point let Trevor be done this season. Let him get surgery and get ready to have his first kid. Now that Mac Jones has seen some action let him have the rest of the season to get to try to jump start his career and or just get to play as a backup in his hometown moving forward either way.

I expect the Jaguars will spend significant time in the coming days weeks figuring whether to play Lawrence again this season. The first step is him clearing concussion protocol. I expect the decision after that will be made by people with knowledge of the situation rather than people speculating about the situation.

Bill from Springfield, VA

Three games! What a joke. If the hit had been on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, he'd be out a full year plus a large fine.

OK.

Brian from Round Rock, TX

Do you enjoy propping up Pederson as your job? It's not your fault. Khan hasn't fired him, so he getting a microphone several days a week and he apparently is very charismatic to the brain dead.

People ask questions. I answer. I cover Doug Pederson in his role as the Jaguars' head coach. I don't know what "propping up" means.

Scott from Orlando, FL

Do you have any thoughts on why the Jaguars did not put in waiver claims for Dulwich (Denver), Houston (Detroit) or Forbes (Washington)? All have shown flashes of potential and in case of Forbes who was a first round pick last year. All three were claimed by teams behind the Jags in claim order.

The Jaguars didn't think those players were better options than the available players.

Travis from Chattanooga, TN

Hi John, not a question, just a lament that sometimes I wish football would be more like hockey. Next season's first game against the Texans would have been something to see.

Yes, it would.