Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard on Clubhouse Live: Injury 'should be a short recovery time'

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard co-hosted Tuesday's Clubhouse Live, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s live weekly football show. Packers rookie running back AJ Dillon was Lazard's guest. 

Among the topics they touched on were Lazard's injury, the Packers' young receivers, offensive versatility and catching passes out of the backfield. The show can be seen live on any of our USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Facebook pages or websites, including clubhouselive.com. It can also be seen on our YouTube channel.

Here are select and edited answers from the interview:

WATCH:  Clubhouse Live with Allen Lazard and AJ Dillon

Q: The Packers recently put you on injured reserve after you underwent core-muscle surgery. You suffered the injury during your Week 3 game against the Saints, but you were able to play through it?

Lazard: Yeah, so obviously it wasn't too big. It happened in the second half when I was running. I just felt kind of a tightness in my lower body and just kind of played through it. Once the game was over and everything, I kind of realized – when the adrenaline wore of – there was something wrong. So I went to the doctor, and they examined it and realized they needed to go back in there and fix some things up.

Q: How are things healing and feeling?

Lazard: I'm feeling great. Can't wait to come back. It should be a short recovery time. And hopefully, I'll be back out on the field with my teammates here again soon.

Q: Do you have a timetable in mind for when you can get back on the field?

Lazard: The near future. A good estimate. 

Q: So what's your role right now as you recover. Are you kind of like another coach to the younger receivers on your roster – guys like Darrius Shepherd and Malik Taylor?

Lazard: Yeah, we have a pretty tight-knit group to begin with as a whole receiver group. (Davante Adams), me, Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) and even the young guys, as well. We push each other hard every single day, always commenting on each other's routes, critiquing each other. Putting ourselves in those situations and what we would have done differently and whatnot. So because we have that great relationship, I think it was easy for those guys to go out there and be able to have the success that they had (Monday against the Falcons). They prepared well, practiced hard and were clearly ready to step up in the moment.

Q: We've talked about offensive identity in the past. But do you think your identity this season is the versatility you've been able to display with different guys stepping up and showcasing a variety of skills?

Lazard: I think our offense is very multi-faceted. And Coach (Matt) LaFleur and (offensive coordinator Nathaniel) Hackett and our coaching staff have done a great job of putting each of us players in the best position to be successful. Obviously, every game has been a different hot hand in everything. But that's just a credit to all the practice and preparation that we go into every single week and how we practice and what we hold ourselves to the standard of success at. So, it's just all about going out there, playing hard and just being ready for the moment to be able to capitalize when it presents itself.

Q: You didn't catch many passes out of the backfield at Boston College. How has that part of your game progressed since having running backs with the ability to catch passes is a big element of LaFleur's offense?

Dillon: That's kind of the way the entire league is. It's not just running backs running the ball. You've got to be able to do it all and do it all at a high level. At BC, I didn't catch the ball much, but that wasn't because of a lack of ability. It just wasn't our offensive style. I think I had 21 (career) catches on like 23 or 24 targets – something like that. So, it wasn't a big highlight in our offense, but being here and being with (No.) 12 (Aaron Rodgers) and guys like Allen and obviously Jamaal (Williams), 'Swerve' (Tyler Ervin), Aaron (Jones) – all those guys have helped me so much to just kind of doing things that, to be honest, were a little bit uncomfortable. The last couple months is the most I've caught balls out of the backfield in my entire life just because I had never been in an offense like that. But it's definitely not a lack of ability, it's a lack of opportunity. It's something that I really have put a star around – something I really want to prove in my game. I know that I've shown that I can run the ball. I've done that. Pass protection, I've done that before. But I really want to show people and be able to provide the ability to pass catch just for myself and the offense and for our team just in case I'm ever needed or called upon.

Contact Brett Christopherson at (920) 993-7117 or bchristopherson@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PCBrettC.