Jets Rumors: Allen Lazard Available for Trade; Followed Aaron Rodgers from Packers | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
David Craig New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard will be "available in trade talks" this offseason, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt.
Lazard is fully guaranteed $10 million for the 2024 season.
The wide receiver signed a four-year, $44 million contract in New York last offseason after following quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers to the Jets.
He recorded 311 receiving yards and a touchdown in 14 games for the Jets last season.
The Jets would save $3.4 million by trading Lazard before June 1, and $10 million if he is traded after that date, according to Over the Cap.
Lazard's contract runs through the 2025 and 2026 seasons at an $11 million base salary, none of which is guaranteed.
The news of Lazard's trade availability marks the end of the Jets' attempt to spark the team's flagging offense by providing Rodgers with a familiar No. 2 receiver.
After spending five seasons together on the Packers, Lazard and Rodgers "strategized" about playing together in New York while the veteran quarterback was waiting to be traded from the Packers early last offseason, according to Michael David Smith of NBC Sports.
That plan went awry when Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon four snaps into his Jets debut.
Without the former Packers quarterback, Lazard's usage declined throughout the season as he recorded one of the worst drop rates in the NFL.
Lazard participated in a season-low 27 percent of offensive snaps in Week 16 and was healthy scratched for the Jets' season finale, ending the season with fewer than 400 receiving yards for the first time in five seasons.
It remains to be seen if that total puts off the Denver Broncos from resuming their previous pursuit of Lazard. The team considered adding him in free agency last offseason, according to Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado.
While searching for a trade partner for Lazard, the Jets will also need to continue searching for an alternative receiver to fill out the depth chart behind Garrett Wilson.