Allen Lazard was one of the better wide receivers that were going to be hitting the market this offseason. He was coming off of a career year and given his contributions to the team other than just catching the ball, he was going to be a sought-after player.
But, it sounds like one of the teams that weren’t going to put too much effort into signing him was his own, the Green Bay Packers. Allen Lazard made comments after the season ended that strongly hinted he would not be returning to the franchise he spent the first five seasons of his career with and that has come to fruition.
He signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the New York Jets that includes $22 million guaranteed. It is the largest contract for a wide receiver this offseason, surpassing the three-year, $33 million deals that Jaboki Meyers signed with the Las Vegas Raiders and JuJu Smith-Schuster signed to replace him on the New England Patriots.
It certainly sounds like there will be no love lost between Allen Lazard and the Packers, as he didn’t have too flattering of words about his departure. Per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, it didn’t sound like the Packers had much interest at all in bringing him back.
Given the Packers’ current situation at wide receiver, it is a bit surprising that they showed no interest in bringing back Allen Lazard. He was excellent for them last season and the team isn’t in a position to just have talented players walk out the door as there are no ready-made replacements on the roster.
Green Bay will be relying heavily on Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs to take big second-year leaps. The pressure will certainly be on, especially with Aaron Rodgers expecting to be on the Jets with Allen Lazard at some point in the near future.
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