New York Jets Veteran Wide Receiver Has Alarmingly Bad Day During OTAs

The New York Jets are going to have an interesting decision to make when roster cuts roll around based on some early reports coming out of OTAs.

East Rutherford, NJ December 3, 2023 -- Allen Lazard of the Jets during pre game warm ups. Lazard did not dress to play last week. The Atlanta Falcons and the NY Jets play at MetLife Stadium on December 3, 2023 in East Rutherford, NJ. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

Coming into OTAs, there were two main hopes for the New York Jets.

Leave this time period with as few injuries as possible and get the offensive weapons in sync with their future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

This is a spot on the calendar where the coaching staff can develop young players and get veterans brought in from outside the organization familiar with what they want to do on both sides of the ball. Without there being contact during OTAs, there should be fewer chances of injury.

Early on, there was a great report that their rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley has been impressing his new teammates with what he has done on the field.

That is a great sign for the Jets who were looking to improve their weapons heading into the year after they were really carried by Garrett Wilson in 2023. The hope is their third round pick and offseason signing, Mike Williams, will both make a seamless transition into this offense and free up their superstar wide receiver to get more favorable matchups.

After New York traded for Rodgers, the front office also decided to bring in a familiar target for him by handing Allen Lazard a four-year, $44 million contract in March 2023 with that in mind.

So far, that decision has been nothing short of a disaster.

In 14 games last season, the six-year veteran only caught 23 balls for 311 yards and one touchdown, putting up the worst performance of his career.

Lazard has been viewed as a potential cut-candidate if he doesn't look like he's turning things around, but with Rodgers back throwing him the ball, the hope was he would return to his old form.

However, that does not seem to be the case during OTAs as Robby Sato of Jets X Factor reported it was a disastrous performance for the 28-year-old where he was locked up by rookie cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers on a red zone target before dropping a knee-high ball a couple of plays later.

That's not the start the Jets were hoping for from someone they brought in to be a reliable option in the passing game.

This will continue to be something to monitor as there's a real chance New York moves on from him if he doesn't start performing, no matter how close of a relationship he and Rodgers have.