The Allen Lazard era has come to an end in New York.
According to a report from Jordan Schultz, the Jets are releasing Lazard at his request.
It ends a disappointing three-year tenure in New York. After signing a four-year, $44 million deal in 2023 to join forces with former Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers, Lazard ended up catching just 70 passes for 911 yards and eight touchdowns across 36 games (24 starts) with New York.
In April 2025, Lazard agreed to a pay cut to stay with the Jets, lowering his cap number from $13.2 million to $4.6 million. He was ultimately buried on the Jets’ depth chart throughout the year. Lazard played in just 10 of the Jets’ 14 games (two starts) and was a healthy scratch three times. The eighth-year vet caught 10 of 18 targets for 70 yards and one touchdown.
Lazard will presumably seek to join a playoff contender. He will surely be linked to Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers, who recently welcomed an influx of veteran receivers in Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the latter of whom played alongside Lazard and Rodgers in Green Bay. Valdes-Scantling caught a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s Monday night victory (which helped the Jets).
In the meantime, the Jets will begin scanning through 2026 dates for Lazard’s jersey retirement ceremony.
Joking aside, Lazard’s release supports the Jets’ continued focus on evaluating their young wideouts before the end of the season. New York’s mid-season trade pickups, Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie III, have been dominating the snaps and targets at wide receiver in recent weeks. It’s a smart approach for the Jets, who need to see what they have in the former second-rounders to inform their offseason approach.
