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The Green Bay Packers only had one player missing from Tuesday’s first practice of their three-day mandatory minicamp: potential No. 1 receiver Allen Lazard.
Lazard was not present for the Packers’ voluntary workouts over the past few weeks and currently has no obligation to attend the team’s mandatory practices, as he has not yet signed the second-round restricted free agent tender that Green Bay placed on him in March and is technically not under contract with the Packers for 2022 at this point.
According to Lazard’s agent, Peter Schaffer, though, the 26-year-old wide receiver remains committed to the Packers and is putting in work away from their organized activities to ensure he is ready to contribute in the upcoming season.
“Allen’s total focus is on having the best possible season he can have as a player and helping the Packers win the Lombardi Trophy,” Schaffer said in a statement, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “Everything he is doing is to further those objectives.”
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Lazard Likely Seeking Bigger Deal With Packers
There are a couple of things to understand about Lazard holding off on signing his tender. First and foremost, he is not allowed to negotiate with any team other than the Packers unless the tender is rescinded, so there is no present danger of him running off to sign with another team or using another team to leverage against the Packers.
The second-round tender is also worth about $3.98 million and can be structured with void years to spread out his earnings over future years. In fact, the Packers did something like that with tight end Robert Tonyan’s second-round tender in 2021, restructuring a large portion of it into a signing bonus and prorating it over five seasons, four of which were void years tacked onto the deal.
In all likelihood, though, Lazard is looking for more long-term security with the Packers during an offseason in which other wide receivers have banked some serious money. He is coming off a career-best 2021 season that saw him catch 40 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns over 15 games and has built a strong connection with back-to-back MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers over the past three seasons. He also has an opportunity to become the Packers’ top receiver in 2022 with Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling no longer in the picture.
Unfortunately for Lazard, the window is closing for him to negotiate a better deal. If he has not signed his tender by June 15, the Packers will have the right to reduce the cost of his tender down to $935,000 under the league’s current CBA. He could still hold out past June 15, but it could be wiser for him to settle for the tender’s original value if the Packers are unwilling to negotiate a longer-term arrangement with him.
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