The Green Bay Packers’ offense is crying out for a running back like MarShawn Lloyd. Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson provide plenty of power, but Lloyd’s speed and home-run hitting ability could elevate the entire ground game.
Unfortunately, the Packers’ 2024 third-round pick has barely seen the field. Lloyd has endured some of the worst luck imaginable, with a combination of hamstring, groin, and ankle injuries wiping out almost his entire rookie season. When he finally looked on track to return from an ankle issue, Lloyd required an emergency appendectomy and missed more time.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said last week that we shouldn’t count on Lloyd returning “anytime soon.” He is sidelined with a hamstring injury from the preseason. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has now provided some clarity.
“The Packers still have high hopes for Lloyd but until he can overcome the soft-tissue injuries that have plagued his short career, he’s not going to get on the field,” writes Silverstein. “Lloyd has met with more specialists to help figure out imbalances in his body that may be causing the hamstring and groin injuries that have sidelined him. It may all stem from a knee injury he suffered in college.”
MarShawn Lloyd has met with ‘more specialists’ in hopes of finding long-term injury solution
Lloyd previously visited the Badger Athletic Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is where the Packers also sent Christian Watson and Eric Stokes to help with recurring hamstring issues.
According to Silverstein, Lloyd has met with “more specialists” in hopes of finding the root cause. That’s the key. There’s no point in rushing him back if the risk of re-injury is high. If the medical team can identify any potential weaknesses that make him prone to soft-tissue injuries, it will, hopefully, allow him to return at full strength and stay healthy.
When Lloyd has been out on the practice field, everyone has seen his potential.
“I mean, that speed you can’t teach, man. The way that he goes in and out of his cuts, he’s just electric. He’s just electric, man,” said Packers running back Josh Jacobs in November 2024.
The hope is that Lloyd can eventually return to the lineup and make a significant impact, but based on LaFleur’s comments and now Silverstein’s reporting, it doesn’t sound imminent. And it wouldn’t be surprising if we don’t see him at all this season.
Hopefully, Lloyd gets back to 100 percent and can finally enjoy some good luck. There’s no doubting his sky-high potential in this offense. But for now, and likely the foreseeable future, the Packers will have to find a way to generate explosive rushing plays without him.
