In his first two seasons with the Green & White, Allen Lazard made 60 receptions for 841 yards (14 yards per) over 26 games and scored 7 TDs. After a regime change this offseason, he agreed to a renegotiated deal with the Jets in April.
After practice Tuesday morning, Lazard calmly and candidly answered questions from reporters about his decision to stick with the Jets amid significant roster changes ushered in with the arrival of HC Aaron Glenn and his coaching staff. For the 7-year veteran, staying at 1 Jets Drive wasn't so much a no-brainer as it was his firm desire.
"I wanted to be there," he said. "When Coach Glenn got hired, I met with him. I told him I wanted to be here. I came here to continue my legacy and be a part of something great and changing the culture. And even though the past two years haven't gone that way, [it] doesn't mean that steered me away from my goals, which is to come here and be a big part of the change and turn of things here with the Jets. So I'm glad that we were able to figure things out, and I'm still here to be a part of this new regime and to be a part of something great."
Lazard is one of the elder statesmen (free agent signing Josh Reynolds is the other with 8 seasons under his belt) in the room. Garrett Wilson is the clear WR1. Reynolds and another free agent signing, Tyler Johnson, are in the mix at WR2, along with Lazard. Add in rookie speedster Arian Smith, second-year man Malachi Corley and third-year Swiss Army Knife Xavier Gipson (among others) and it's pretty clear that nothing is guaranteed to anyone -- except of course Wilson.
"I remember playing against Lazard when I was [the defensive backs coach] in New Orleans, and we played Green Bay quite a bit, and he made a number of plays against us," Glenn said. "So that's what I remember, and that's what I saw. Listen, he's a good player. He's a big slot [6-5, 227], he can block, he's able to catch balls in traffic and make plays, and you just don't let guys like that walk out the building.
"And I know sometimes it happens. But if you can keep a guy like that, get him bought into what we're trying to do, which he is. There's value and the value of his leadership. In the years he's been in league with some of the young guys that we have. We have a young team, especially in that room, you have young guys. So with him and JRey [Reynolds] there, man, it's value to having those guys there."
In March 2023, the Jets signed Lazard to a 4-year free agent contract after he played 5 seasons in Green Bay. A little more than a month later, the Jets traded for QB Aaron Rodgers who had been Lazard's signal-caller with the Packers. Rodgers is now in Pittsburgh, Lazard is still in Florham Park.
"My success isn't determined off of who's throwing me the ball," Lazard, 29, said. "It's the pride that I have by putting that jersey on, wearing the name on my back and also representing the organizations that I'm playing for. So whomever throws me the ball, I'm going go out there and compete the same way, and I've done that my whole career, not just the NFL, in college, high school.
"There's a reason why I'm still here, and it's not because I had Aaron Rodgers throw me the ball my whole life."
Which brings us to the guy who is now throwing the ball for the Jets -- Justin Fields. Lazard has seen Fields numerous times when their NFC Central teams faced off in recent seasons. Lazard called him "super-talented and athletic." Fields returned the compliment on Tuesday.
"As coach said earlier, he's a vet, he's savvy, he's very smart," Fields said of Lazard. "When it turned to just football in general, when we're in the team meetings and selling plays, he probably asked the most questions and so that's good to see. And the younger receivers get to learn from him and stuff like that. So he's been great, and our relationship has definitely grown closer."
