The Green Bay Packers applied the second-round tender on restricted free agent Allen Lazard, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The tender will cost the Packers roughly $3.98 million on the salary cap in 2022, although the team does have an option for reducing his cap number.
Lazard, 26, caught 40 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2021 season. All three figures were career-highs.
Lazard played last season on the one-year exclusive rights tender of $850,000. He will get a sizable raise in 2022.
Lazard is both an efficient receiver and a valuable blocker in Matt LaFleur’s offense. If retained, he will be a top option behind Davante Adams in the Packers passing game next season.
Using the restricted tender keeps Lazard out of unrestricted free agency. He could sign an offer sheet with a different team, but that team would have to send a second-round pick to the Packers if the Packers didn’t match the deal.
Like last year with Robert Tonyan, the Packers could attempt to add void years to the one-year restricted tender. This maneuver would lower Lazard’s cap number in 2022 by spreading out the cap hit, but dead money would accelerate to the cap in 2023.
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