With the season winding down, competition to earn a spot on the Green Bay Packers’ active roster is becoming fierce. The Packers had a spot open on Sunday when Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, but a very dull silver lining is that it presented an opportunity for a player coming back from injury to rejoin the team.
The Packers are in the midst of an intense roster crunch as MarShawn Lloyd, Brenton Cox, and Collin Oliver are working their way back from injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list. Even with Parsons’s injury, there was only one spot available for one of these players to return.
Unfortunately, MarShawn Lloyd bowed out of the competition on Tuesday when head coach Matt LaFleur admitted that Lloyd was unlikely to return this season after tweaking his hamstring during practice last week. With Lloyd out of the picture, it clears the way for Oliver or Cox to make the roster, and perhaps may have increased the chances that both could make the roster.
Collin Oliver, Brenton Cox Could Both Be Winners for Packers After MarShawn Lloyd’s Setback
The issue for the Packers was that they didn’t have enough spots for the players coming back from injury. Green Bay activated Jayden Reed from injured reserve ahead of their Dec. 7 victory over the Chicago Bears, but still needed to sort out whether Oliver or Cox would be ready to return before their practice windows ended on Dec. 22.
On top of that, the Packers' EDGE room was crowded as both players were working their way back. Parsons had an iron grip on a starting role while Kingsley Enagbare and Rashan Gary were splitting time at the opposite spot. Lukas Van Ness is also working his way back from a foot injury, while fourth-round rookie Barryn Sorrell was struggling to find playing time.
Parsons’s injury helps solve part of the problem – even though the Packers would prefer it never happened – but Cox and Oliver could both be part of the solution as Green Bay navigates the home stretch.
Of the two players, Cox is the one who could likely get the nod. The third-year pass rusher logged four sacks and 12 total tackles in seven games last season, but his 2025 season went off the rails when he suffered a groin injury in the season-opener against the Detroit Lions. While Oliver brings more upside as a fifth-round rookie, he also lacks Cox’s experience, which would have the Packers weighing the two outcomes.
With Lloyd’s news, the Packers may have the best of both worlds. Cox could serve a reserve role while Oliver could be on the active roster. Although this may result in one player being inactive on gameday, it would allow them to practice with the team and not have their season end past the deadline.
It’s an unfortunate situation that the Packers would rather not be in, but it’s one where Cox and Oliver could both be winners. With the Packers getting ready to pull all of the levers to make up for the loss of Parsons, they may have to rely on several players to get the job done, making Lloyd’s setback a convenient development going into Chicago.