After cracking a spot on the team’s 53-man roster, New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was surprisingly listed as a healthy scratch for New York’s season-opening matchup.
When asked about it, head coach Aaron Glenn explained that it was because the team wanted to “get him up to speed” after he missed the final couple of weeks of training camp.
Speaking to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post in an exclusive interview, Lazard expressed his slight disappointment in the decision.
“Yeah, I think [was left disappointed],” said Lazard. “But I trust these coaches. They’re gonna put the best people out there.
“Obviously, I would’ve loved to be out there. Just the competitor in me thinks that me being out there can make the difference, no matter what phase or play it would’ve been,” Lazard told The Post after practice on Friday. “We played a great game, all three phases. Just came up short. It is what it is, Week 1, but I’m just looking to come to work every single week.”
Lazard is set to make his season debut Sunday, and with wideout Josh Reynolds sidelined by a hamstring injury, the former Green Bay Packer is expected to take on a key role as a run-blocker. The Jets plan to lean heavily on the ground game after a highly successful Week 1 performance, piling up over 180 yards on the ground while also going up against a vulnerable Buffalo run defense missing interior anchor Ed Oliver.
Lazard’s return gives the Jets another stable run-blocker in a game that will be hard-fought up front.