Green Bay Packers fans are hoping to see second-year running back MarShawn Lloyd make his 2025 debut at some point over the next few weeks. Lloyd has struggled to stay healthy at the start of his NFL career, having played only one game, which was in his rookie year.
Earlier this week, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that Lloyd is in “a really good spot” after speaking with him following his meeting with medical experts on the West Coast. This news came on the heels of Lloyd being spotted at practice last week, working on the side.
The Lloyd buzz continued on Thursday, as Packers RB coach Ben Sirmans weighed in, saying that he thinks MarShawn Lloyd will play for the Packers this season, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Sirmans added that the young running back told him he’s coming back, and said “he’s pretty charged.”
Packers Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up Yet for MarShawn Lloyd’s Return
While all of this is great to hear about Lloyd, given that star running back Josh Jacobs is banged up with a knee injury, Green Bay might want to pump the brakes on its excitement.
We still don’t know when the former third-round pick will actually return to the field, as his 21-day practice window has yet to be opened.
LaFleur left the door open for Lloyd, along with injured WR Jayden Reed, to be activated off injured reserve on Monday. But he ultimately closed that door on Thursday when speaking with reporters.
Therefore, we’ll have to wait until next week at the earliest to see if the Packers will give him the go-ahead.
As you can imagine, when Packers fans saw LaFleur’s comments and the RB coach’s, it likely left them confused. Granted, the RB coach may have jumped the gun with his comments as he works more closely with Lloyd than LaFleur does.
Nonetheless, even when he gets his practice window opened, the Packers won’t automatically put Lloyd back on the field, as he’ll need time to ramp up coming off his litany of injuries over 1.5 years.
Let’s just say Green Bay opens up Lloyd's practice window next week; they’ll have three weeks to get him back on the 53-man, which means the latest he could return is Week 16. If that’s the case, it's not guaranteed he sees the field, depending on where Green Bay is at.
This isn’t like Christian Watson’s return a few weeks ago, where you know what you’re getting. Lloyd remains an unproven commodity, and his role in the offense is still to be determined. That said, it's best if everyone just waits for the head coach to announce whether Lloyd will play or not.