The former Green Bay Packers captain was abruptly released by the New York Jets on Monday.
According to multiple reports on Saturday, the New York Jets have released Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos, who served as the team’s captain for the upcoming 2022 season. The Jets have acquired a number of former Packers players in the recent off-season, including Aaron Rodgers, who was traded to New York this spring. Many of those acquisitions were on offense, but the Jets have also added Amos to their defense for the upcoming season.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Jets and Amos had a mutual parting of ways.
Amos started 11 games this season for the Jets, totaling 23 tackles and 7 stops. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out at 72.7 overall.
Ex-Green Bay Packers star named possibly “the worst” free agent signing in New York Jets history amid disappointing 2023 season
After a 1-15 season in 2022, New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan believed the team’s best chance for improvement in 2023 would come from the acquisition of a handful of former Packers players. One of those players, of course, is soon-to-be Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers. But even before the team made Rodgers its centerpiece acquisition, Maccagnan began assembling a list of some of his favorite teammates from Green Bay.
The hiring of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and the signing of receiver Allen Lazard on a four-year, $44 million deal (including $22 million in guarantees) were two of New York’s first moves of the off-season.
After the Rodgers trade was finalized, the Jets added receivers Randall Cobb and Billy Turner, as well as tight end Tim Boyle, and defensive end Adrian Amos.
The 2023 season hasn’t gone as planned. Rodgers ruptured his Achilles four games in, Cobb has been inactive more than active, and Amos was recently cut by the team.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Allen Lazard, expected to be the second wide receiver on the Jets behind Garret Wilson, has been a disaster. Lazard’s performance has been so disastrous that he was benched for the team’s last game, a drubbing at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, 34-13.
The former Green Bay Packers wide receiver is having a down year in New York.
If Green Bay Packers fans were frustrated by Lazard’s performance (or lack thereof) as the team’s number-one receiver, imagine how frustrated they’d be with his performance as a second-round draft pick.
Lazard was expected to fill the void left by Green Bay’s move to Las Vegas when Davante Adams was traded…
These numbers would be good for any team’s number two receiver, and that’s what the Jets believed they were getting when they signed Lazard to a four-year, $11 million deal.
The New York Jets Insider calls former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard “potentially the worst free agent signing ever.”
The problem is that Lazard hasn’t been himself with Rodgers at quarterback. He has 20 catches for 290 yards and one TD in 10 games this season. He hasn’t had more than three catches in any game this year. Last year, Lazard had just four games with at least four catches.
Because of Lazard’s lack of production without Rodgers as his go-to quarterback, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenballt has labeled him as “probably the worst single free agent signing in franchise history.”
According to Rosenblatt, Lazard has failed to live up to the deal he signed in the offseason, which was the richest of any wide receiver in the NFL. At this rate, he could end up being second only to Trumaine Johnson as the worst single free-agent signing in franchise history.
As a high-character player, it’s hard to see Lazard in this situation, but that’s what the New York media expects of him.
When New York signed Lazard, they guaranteed him $22 million. He has a cap hit of $12 million next year, but a dead cap hit of $18 million, according to Spotrac. In other words, if the Jets cut Lazard before the 2024 season, they would lose cap space.
Rosenblatt wonders if Lazard will get a chance to prove his worth with Rodgers as their quarterback, and if New York will retain him.
Green Bay fans know Rodgers has a lot of influence in the front office, maybe more than he deserves. If the Packers want Lazard, they’ll have him.
Cutting Lazard would be a mistake, even for a struggling player. But it would cost the team $6 million. They’re always going to be the Jets.
