Connor Hughes of SNY believes if you got the New York Jets’ brass on a mountain top that they’d admit signing Allen Lazard to a $44 million contract was a “mistake.”
Hughes revealed that information in a mailbag series he posted on Monday, May 13.
New York inked the former Green Bay Packers standout during free agency in 2023. That $11 million per year average was the highest amount any receiver landed on the open market outside of Odell Beckham Jr.
“The Jets added Lazard last season because of his relationship with [Aaron] Rodgers. They wanted him to have someone familiar to throw to. Obviously, that is not a very good reason to sign a player to a contract worth $11 million annually,” Hughes said. “Lazard will be on the roster this year because no one wants to trade for him and the Jets can’t cut him. He’ll essentially be insurance in case something happens to the guys outside – a very costly insurance plan.”
Early Signs That This Wasn’t Going to Be an Easy Path
Lazard ended up having the worst season of his career outside of his rookie campaign when he only appeared in one game.
The former Iowa State product recorded career lows in receptions (23), yards (311), and touchdowns (one).
Hughes revealed that there were early signs dating back to training camp that maybe this wouldn’t be what it was cracked up to be.
“I remember watching Lazard work and wondering when he was going to do what justified his contract. He’s not fast enough to create much separation. He’s big (6-foot-5, 227 pounds), but doesn’t play physically in attacking the ball. The Giants played the Packers last season. I remember asking a couple of their writers about Lazard, curious if he was a player who got a paycheck and then checked out. That’s not the case. Turns out the player the Jets saw last year was the exact player who played five years in Green Bay,” Hughes said. “The only difference was that Rodgers had the ability to fit the ball into windows where only Lazard could get it.”
If what Hughes said is true, that was a bad job by the Jets pro personnel staff. There job is to study players who could become available and examine how they could fit on the Jets.
Perhaps New York was simply blinded by the idea of making Rodgers happy and overlooked some of those issues with Lazard. Either way, Lazard didn’t produce on the field and even got called out by head coach Robert Saleh who rarely makes those types of statements publically.
The Silver Lining of the Lazard Situation With the Jets
With how bad last year was, it can only go up from here. That’s a positive.
Secondly, the role the Jets will be asking of Lazard is a lot more feasible. Last year he was paid to be the Robin to Garrett Wilson’s Batman and it flopped miserably. This time around he will serve as the WR3/4/5 depending on the health and readiness of Mike Williams and Malachi Corley.
Thirdly, Lazard will be reunited with his former Packers teammate Rodgers. The prior chemistry should help and on top of that, Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
He will be able to put the ball in positions for Lazard to catch it and make plays. When you combine all of those factors, Lazard is inevitably due for a major bounceback season in 2024.
