5 wide receivers the Green Bay Packers could acquire with Allen Lazard out
3. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
Green was just missing on a very fruitful connection with Joe Burrow through two games this season, with eight catches on 22 targets. Then Week 3 came, with just six targets as Tyler Boyd (13 targets) and rookie Tee Higgins (two touchdowns) took center stage. It’s a big step to phasing Green out, since it was only one game with lower volume in what’s shaping up to be a pass-heavy offense, but he may start taking a back seat to the Bengals’ young receivers.
After missing all of last season with an ankle injury, and without a normal ramp-up to the season, Green acknowledged some rust as he worked back into game shape.
Green is playing this season on the franchise tag, with an $18.171 million cap hit that will be a thing for almost any team that may want to think about trading for him. Even a prorated portion of that after a trade will be a pretty solid cap hit for this year.
If they could make it work, trading for Green would be an all-in move for the Packers with no firm commitment to keep him in 2021. Even if he’s not what he was at this point in his career, he’d be an upgrade to the receiving corps behind Adams while Lazard is out.