Allen Lazard, Jets Reportedly Agree to New Contract amid Aaron Rodgers, Trade Rumors

The New York Jets may no longer have Aaron Rodgers, but they are staying in business with Allen Lazard.

Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, Lazard has agreed to a renegotiated contract with the Jets that will pay him $1.75 million in guaranteed salary for the 2025 season.

ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the new deal for the 29-year-old, who took an $8.5 million pay cut to remain with the Jets.

Lazard was given permission by the Jets to seek a trade before the start of the new league year on March 12, though a deal always seemed unlikely given his $11 million salary in 2025.

Even though there was an assumption Lazard would end up being released, as the Jets did with Davante Adams when he was unable to find a trade partner earlier in the offseason, the team left the door open to bring back the veteran wideout.

General manager Darren Mougey told reporters at the NFL league meetings the Jets were "working through" things with the Iowa State product to potentially restructuring his contract to keep him for the 2025 season.

ESPN's Rich Cimini noted one potential reason for the delay in Lazard signing a new deal with the Jets was he may have been waiting to see where Rodgers wound up and attempt to reunite with his longtime quarterback.

The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be the most-likely landing spot for Rodgers if he chooses to play this season, but there's no indication any deal between the two sides is close right now.

There is speculation the 41-year-old is waiting until after the draft to see what the Steelers do because he may not want to be in a situation where they take a quarterback early who could replace him as the starter at some point during the season.

Given the uncertainty around Rodgers' future, Lazard would have been at risk of being left stranded without a team if he continued to wait things out with the Jets.

Lazard has played with Rodgers in each of his seven NFL seasons. They were teammates for five years with the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2022.

The Jets signed Lazard to a four-year, $44 million contract as a free agent in March 2023, one month before they traded for Rodgers.

Lazard has 841 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 26 games over the past two seasons in New York. He is projected to be one of the team's starting receivers in 2025, along with Garrett Wilson and Josh Reynolds.