Inside the Failed Broncos Trade for $44 Million Star Playmaker

The Denver Broncos almost had a different wide receiver corps this season.

Courtland Sutton and fellow incumbents like Lil’Jordan Humphrey remained in play. Rookies Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin might have drawn interest too. But The Athletic shared details on a failed trade that might have kept Josh Reynolds off the roster.

In what would have been one of many deals between the two organizations, the Broncos and New York Jets held talks about a potential trade for Jerry Jeudy.

“[Former Jets general manager Joe] Douglas pursued a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, offering Allen Lazard and a Day 2 draft pick, according to a league source,” The Athlteic’s Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini wrote in a batch of intel on November 19. “Johnson nixed it.”

“This would’ve been an excellent trade for the Broncos. In reality, they got 5th & 6th round picks from the Browns for Jerry Jeudy,” The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider posted in reaction to Russini’s report on X on November 19.

“I would’ve much rather taken the (likely) 72nd overall pick & Allen Lazard in a salary dump, who could’ve been a good veteran target for Bo Nix.”

The Broncos also held interest in Lazard before the failed trade.

“Sources: #Broncos were also very aggressive in their pursuit of WR Allen Lazard, but likely would have had to make a trade,” Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported for The Score on X after Lazard signed with the Jets in March 2023. “Denver really values his toughness and route-running.”

Lazard, 28, is in Year 2 of a four-year, $44 million contract. He has earned $18.1 million in his career. The former Packer has a $10 million base salary in 2024 and $11 million in 2025 and 2026. He has cap hits of $12.2 million, $13.2 million, and $13.2 million in those years.

A post-June 1 trade would have saved the Jets $10 million against the salary cap, per Over The Cap. They would incur $2.2 million in dead space this season.

Lazard has caught 30 passes for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns this season.

An undrafted free agent in 2019, Lazard made his mark first with the Green Bay Packers in 2018. He developed a strong rapport with Aaron Rodgers there before the Packers traded the latter to the Jets in 2023.

His relationship with Rodgers made him a fit for New York in free agency in 2023. However, trade pickup and fellow ex-Packer Davante Adams’ arrival pushed him down the depth chart.

The Broncos and Jets worked together on two other trades during the 2024 offseason.

Denver acquired former No. 2 overall pick (2021) and quarterback Zach Wilson from New York before the 2024 draft in April. Wilson is QB3 behind Nix and Jarrett Stidham. Less than one week after the trade for Wilson, the Broncos acquired defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers.

Jerry Jeudy Reacts to Failed Broncos-Jets Trade

The Broncos traded Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns instead. He has hit his stride since Week 8, particularly with the switch to Jameis Winston, who Broncos head coach Sean Payton coached with the New Orleans Saints in 2020.

Jeudy, who the Broncos selected No. 15 overall in 2020, still offered his reaction to the reporting of that failed potential trade.

“God did,” Jeudy posted on X on November 20 which tied into his previous, “Nah I did lol” post.

The Broncos traded Jeudy on March 9. They signed Reynolds on March 27.

It is fair to wonder whether or not a trade to acquire Lazard would have prevented Reynolds – who was eager to work with Payton – from signing or any other ripple effects it may have had on both clubs.

Broncos Almost Got Aaron Rodgers Benched

The Broncos almost had an organization-altering impact on the Jets even without the Jeudy trade. After the Broncos’ 10-9 win over the Jets in Week 4, Johnson called a meeting. It included former Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett among others.

Hackett began the season as the Jets’ offensive coordinator but was demoted from play-calling in October.

Johnson wanted Rodgers benched.

“According to those sources, the day after the Jets’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 29, there was a contentious meeting at the team facility,” Rosenblatt and Rusinni wrote. “During the meeting, Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers.

“He felt Rodgers’ performance was holding the team back. The coaches and Douglas, stunned at the suggestion, talked him out of it and convinced Johnson to stay the course and that benching Rodgers, with his pedigree, four games into the season would not sit well with the locker room. The coaches also felt it would embarrass Rodgers. The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious — multiple sources from that meeting believed he was.”

Johnson instead fired then-head coach Robert Saleh just over one week later after the Jets’ 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.