The Jets signed veteran wide receiver Allen Lazard in 2023 to give quarterback Aaron Rodgers a familiar face to work with on offense.
At the time, the idea made sense given Lazard caught 100 receptions for 1,301 yards and 14 touchdowns with Rodgers from 2021 to 2022. The questionable move, however, was handing him a massive $44 million deal worth $11 million per year over three seasons.
Things looked even worse in 2023 when Rodgers was lost for the year and Lazard caught a career-low 23 receptions for 311 yards and one touchdown. The Jets even benched him for three games, including the team's final two of the year.
Unfortunately for Lazard and the Jets, the situation hasn't seemed to improve early in the 2024 offseason. Lazard keeps dropping passes in practice and hasn't rebuilt his rapport with Rodgers yet. There isn't much the Jets can do with him, either, apart from sticking him on the bench. He's owed $10 million guaranteed this season before the Jets will have the opportunity to cut him after the 2024 season.
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Jets WR Allen Lazard continues to be a disastrous signing
Lazard looked awful during the first week of organized team activities, according to The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt. Lazard caught 1-of-5 passes from Rodgers in seven-on-seven or 11-on-11 drills, per Rosenblatt, while other receivers caught 8-of-10 passes. What made it even worse for Lazard was he lost a rep to sixth-round rookie Qwan’tez Stiggers, who didn't play college football and came from the CFL.
Poor practice reps continued on June 4 when Lazard dropped a pass on third-and-two against Sauce Gardner, per SNY's Connor Hughes.
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Drops were an issue for Lazard before he signed with New York. Lazard had six drops in 2022 with Rodgers and 14 total from 2019 to 2022. In all honestly, he was never worth the salary the Jets gave him. But that was the price of doing business to secure a Rodgers trade in 2022.
Again, Lazard won't be cut this year. The Jets can't afford to pay him not to play. They probably can't afford to have him drop passes, either, but at least he'll likely be buried on the depth chart behind Garrett Wilson, Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson and Mike Williams.
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If Williams can't recover in time from his surgically-repaired ACL, then Lazard might see an increase in reps. But for now, he shouldn't see much action until he can correct his fundamental lapses in pass-catching.
