After trading George Pickens to the Cowboys, the Steelers could be in the market to add depth at wide receiver. Their pursuit of Aaron Rodgers may point them towards one of his favorite targets: Allen Lazard.
Lazard is currently under contract with the Jets, but he is “‘in play’ to be traded to the Steelers,” according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The 29-year-old wideout started his NFL career with Rodgers in Green Bay and was signed by the Jets in 2023 as part of their effort to bring the four-time MVP to New York.
Lazard put up career-worst numbers in 2023 while catching passes from three different quarterbacks following Rodgers’ Achilles injury. He was a healthy scratch for the last two games of the season but rebounded in 2024 with Rodgers back under center. Lazard missed five games due to injury and finished the season with 37 receptions on 60 targets for 530 yards and six touchdowns.
The Steelers have kept in touch with Rodgers since his visit and remain “hopeful” that he will play for the team this year, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Trading draft capital for Lazard would be another indication of Pittsburgh’s confidence that Rodgers will put pen to paper eventually.
Moving on from Lazard likely wouldn’t be an issue for the Jets after Rodgers’ departure this offseason. Their new regime signed two veterans with similar skillsets in Josh Reynolds and Tyler Johnson, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, which could make Lazard surplus to requirements.
Lazard’s acceptance of a $7.5MM pay cut earlier this offseason makes his contract far more attractive in a trade. His 2025 salary is now just $2.25MM with $1.75MM fully-guaranteed and another $250k available in per-game roster bonuses, per OverTheCap. That’s more money than the Steelers saved by trading Pickens; while they still need to budget for Rodgers, they can still certainly afford to add Lazard to their ledger.
The Jets, meanwhile, will have to account for $6.55MM in dead money if they trade Lazard. A pre-June 1 trade would put it all on the books in 2025 and cost them an extra $1.9MM against the salary cap, while a post-June 1 trade would push $4.37MM to 2026 with $2.43MM of overall cap savings this year.
Lazard’s connection to Rodgers will no doubt interest the Steelers, especially if one acquisition would beget the other. However, they are still counting on a jump from 2024 third-rounder Roman Wilson after his disappointing rookie season, per Fowler. Injuries limited Wilson to just one appearance with five snaps and zero targets in 2024. A healthy offseason could give him a better chance at capitalizing on his impressive physical profile, especially if he’s catching passes from Rodgers instead of Mason Rudolph.
Pittsburgh now has three 2026 third-rounders they could use to add WR depth, as noted by Fowler, though it’s hard to imagine Lazard fetching more than a Day 3 pick. He might be a cheaper alternative to some of their other targets, which may be the team’s preference after their substantial investment in D.K. Metcalf. Using a late-round pick to acquire Lazard would leave the Steelers enough premium draft picks in 2026 to add another receiver on Day 2 or even move up in the first round for a quarterback.
Jets 2.0 is underway…
Well, did it work for those people?
No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but… but it might work for us.
Bahh’God!!!! That’s Randall Cobb’s music!
Only the Jets are the Jets. Aren’t the Steelers the winningest franchise in NFL history?
“History” is the key word there. A mediocre team at best the past few years.
This is the Rodgers effect. The only bright spot in all this is that they won’t have to trade up to get a QB in next year’s draft.
If you had to describe the Steelers off season, you really couldn’t put it into words
I hope they aren’t bringing in a WR with little to no value to help court a QB who’s done. Another year of him on McAfee pretending he’s still an elite qb will be hard to watch and I like Mcafees show
Other site mentioned AR15 is waiting for the schedule to come out befire signing with the Steelers. He doesn’t want to be featured on too many primetime games on short weeks lol
He may not have a choice. The league wants to showcase any thrower. They know he will sign.
Why are they still chasing Rodgers when he’s not the missing piece to a SB?
It’s like paying the dealership the full price for a loaner while they repair your car
Remember that time as a kid you had 9 months to do a science fair project and you did nothing? You woke up day of the science fair and just kind of threw some trash you found on your way to school into your backpack and made a stupid looking “recycling our way to the future” diagram with it
That’s how the steeler are handling their QB situation this year apparently
Good little boy Steelers. Here’s a bone!
Hey bucka….they are chasing adams only because tomlin says so. So the want t I entice him with another outcast. Tomlin and lil artie think prima donna can lead them to the promised land.
Tomlin wants to keep his non losing streak in tact. Even to the point of decimating the organization. It’s sad that it has come down to this crap. Trading Pickens after the draft,with no replacement is asinine. Of course anything they do anymore is asinine.
And the yinzers fall for it. Just like the pirates with skenes. I hope he leaves where he can go on to be one of the greats. Won’t happen here. They will ruin the kid
Why in the world would the Jets do this? and get back what- a 6th round pick? They would take an extra $2m cap hit! Lazard has a decent year and is a good blocking WR which is what Fields needs.
Because Lazard doesn’t fit into their plans, first of all. As the article says, he’s only there thanks to what Rupert above so aptly calls “the Rodgers effect”
So why not get something for him?
It’s just a dismal time to be a Pittsburgh sports fan. The Rodgers soap opera is just the icing on the cake
Davante Adams to the Steelers rumor in 10….9….8
He’s already signed with the Rams, so. . .
Why? Just sign Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, or Gabe Davis. I don’t dislike Lazard, and he’s can be a decent piece if Rodgers comes, but you’d think that even an aged Cooper or Allen could offer more as a receiver:
The only answer must be that Rodgers wants him. As you point out, there is no logical reason, so why else?
Must be. Lazard is only really useful as an offensive weapon with Rodgers, at least that we’ve seen. It’s the trading part that I don’t get. Why not just sign another free agent, instead of trading a pick? Lazard probably won’t add many more yards in the end.
The Jets could trade him and a 4th to the Steelers for one of their thirds. There’s no way they would get a third straight up for him but a pick swap is reasonable.
I was honestly getting worried. It’s been a good 5 or 6 days since I’ve seen Rodgers mentioned…
When they hire Nate Hackett as a consultant, the deal is done. ARod is the pied piper and the team are the rats. So silly.
The Yinzers are as desperate as a 45 yr old at a college bar hitting on freshmen.