Allen Lazard’s Injury Could Force New York Jets From Trading Struggling WR

Allen Lazard's IR stint could cause a problem for the New York Jets ahead of the trade deadline.

East Rutherford, NJ -- September 29 -- Allen Lazard of the Jets during pre-game warm-ups as the Denver Broncos and New York Jets meet at MetLife Stadium. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Jets suffered another unfortunate injury on Thursday when the team announced that Allen Lazard was placed on IR. Lazard will now miss the next four games.

With the Jets looking to move some players in the next week ahead of the November 5 trade deadline, there's a chance this could have an impact on that.

It's believed that how they play in Week 9 will determine what they do at the deadline. If they win, New York might think they have a chance to make the playoffs.

It'd be an interesting thought, as even if they win, it's tough to picture a scenario where the front office should trust this team. They won on Thursday night and but could easily lose the next five games.

Without Lazard, that doesn't get much easier, and it could confuse the Mike Williams situation. Williams is viewed as one of the top trade targets on the market.

Due to his struggles in his short stint with the team, the Jets are expected to move on from him for draft compensation, helping their future.

However, Jesse Reed of Forbes believes Lazard's injury might make New York hesitant to trade Williams.

"Before messing up and then being heavily criticized by Aaron Rodgers for his route-running mistake in their Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Williams was actually still part of the Jets offense. He wasn’t a large part of it, but he had a role nevertheless... Even with Davante Adams in the starting lineup with up-and-coming star, Garrett Wilson, the Jets need a solid third receiving option. Williams can be that, at least in the short term. Now, the franchise needs to determine if he is more valuable on the field, or if the draft compensation they might receive for him in a trade will serve them better going forward."

While his reasoning is fair, it wouldn't make much sense to keep Williams because he's on a one-year deal. Plus, others inside the building could do what he's done, even if they aren't regarded as the same type of player he is.

The Jet's focus over the next week should be to get as much value as possible. If that means the team will struggle from here on out, that shouldn't be an issue.

Even with the win on Thursday night, it isn't like New York is playing good football right now, so why not capitalize while they can?