GREEN BAY – Allen Lazard had a plan for how to approach the most important offseason of his football career.
After years of training in Phoenix, the Packers' fourth-year receiver flipped the script this summer and returned home to Iowa instead.
It was music to the ears of his mom, Mary, who often jokes with Lazard that "we don't see you enough." But the 6-foot-5 receiver also made the switch to ready himself, both mentally and physically, for a high-stakes 2022 campaign.
"That's where my roots are," said Lazard, a native of Urbandale who starred for four seasons at Iowa State.