HOUSTON -- Former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon's phone buzzed shortly after the Houston Texans shut out his old team in Week 4.

When he looked down, he saw a message from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair -- a quick note letting Carthon, who was fired by Tennessee in January after just two seasons, know that he still had his back.

But that's Al-Shaair.

And even though Carthon isn't bitter about his exit in Tennessee, the gesture was received.

"He's family to me," Al-Shaair told ESPN. "I just talked to him last week. I know his kids, I know his wife. He knows my family, my mother. It's a true connection."

It's a connection that shows another side of Al-Shaair, and one that goes back to 2019, when the two were with the San Francisco 49ers before Carthon brought t

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