The New York Jets have an embarrassment of riches on their offensive unit heading into the 2024 NFL season, but they could trade one of their wide receivers who has not met expectations to an NFC contender as the franchise rounds out their final 53-man roster.
The Jets have it all. Superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers is healthy again and only three years removed from his last league MVP. He has an elite wide receiver in Garrett Wilson with another year under his belt. WR Mike Williams is healthy and running back Breece Hall is hungry for a career year. However, the man they brought on to be their second-leading pass-catcher back in 2022, who also played alongside Rodgers on the Green Bay Packers, appears to be on his way out of New York.
Reports suggest that the Jets could trade WR Allen Lazard to the Eagles
USA Today’s Cory Woodruff labeled the Philadelphia Eagles as a likely trade partner for the New York Jets to move off of WR Allen Lazard this summer, saying this (h/t Patrick McAvoy of Philadelphia Eagles on SI):
“The New York Jets feel like a team that could make an aggressive trade to add talent this summer to help maximize the remainder of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ career,” Woodroof said. “With only about $6 million in cap space, that might make a player like Lazard expendable in what will be a crucial season for the Jets.”
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Could Lazard still service the Jets in 2024?
Lazard is a talented young receiver who hit a rough patch in 2023. The 6-5, 227-pound wideout accumulated 311 receiving yards and only one REC touchdown in 14 games, 12 of which he started last season. That’s not what the Jets expected from a pass-catcher who previously brought down six REC TDs and a career-high 788 REC yards across 15 starts in 2022.
It appears that, barring an injury to Wilson, Williams, or rookie wideout Malachi Corley, the 28-year-old won’t get the chance to try and revert back to his level of play from two years ago next time out, especially with WR Xavier Gipson also breathing down his neck in the depth chart. It does help that Lazard has chemistry with Rodgers dating back to their days in Green Bay, but he may not see enough snaps to make a convincing case to remain as their WR3 or WR4.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are stacked at wide receiver in their starting lineup, but have a desperate need for a third option. Philadelphia got a combined 2,522 receiving yards from A.J. Brown (1,456 REC yards) and DeVonta Smith (1,066 REC yards), yet they did not have a single other wideout pile on more than 164 yards behind them in 2023, nor do they currently have a WR3 or second-stringer who eclipsed 224 receiving yards last year.
The Jets don’t want to aid the Eagles in getting back to the Super Bowl for the second time in the last three years. Nevertheless, trading Lazard to an NFC team would at the least allow them to avoid him exacting his get-back on the team in a potential playoff clash.
