The 2025 season has been a rough ride for second-year running back MarShawn Lloyd, who has yet to play this year. The 24-year-old running back, who was taken in the third round of the 2024 draft, has so much promise and potential, but has been hindered by the injury bug.
However, there’s been some good news to report on the young running back’s health, which is good, given that Josh Jacobs got banged up in Week 11 with a knee injury. On Monday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that Lloyd is trending in the right direction after meeting with medical experts on the West Coast about his soft-tissue issues.
“Talking to medical people, talking to him, they feel like he's in a really good spot, " the Packers head coach said via Weston Hodkiewicz of Packers.com.
MarShawn Lloyd in 'Really Good Spot' After Meeting with Medical Experts
After months of disappointing updates on Lloyd, combined with it being a trying first 1.5 years for the young rusher, fans are rightfully cautious when it comes to any kind of good news on the RB. Yet, the excitement is truly building with Lloyd getting insight on his health issues from specialists and suddenly tracking toward a return to the field.
Ahead of last week’s game against the New York Giants, Lloyd was reportedly seen on the side working with injured wide receiver Jayden Reed at Thursday’s practice. Even more notably, LaFleur said that Green Bay could “potentially” open Lloyd’s practice window this week, but they will have a better idea on Wednesday.
Packers fans hope that will be the case as Lloyd could give the offense another weapon in the backfield to add down the stretch. As things currently stand, Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks are the RB2 and RB3 behind Jacobs.
If Lloyd is healthy and ready to go in a few weeks, it's unlikely that they would drop Wilson out of the RB2 because he’s played well in spurts this season (220 yards and a touchdown on 53 carries). Additionally, Lloyd only has one game of NFL experience under his belt, and it would be unfair to put him in that spot.
Therefore, swapping Lloyd in the RB3 spot for Brooks is much more feasible to get him comfortable and some snaps on offense. This will be one of the roster decisions that Green Bay fans will be keeping an eye out for, as Lloyd has the skillset as a runner and pass catcher to shine in LaFleur’s scheme.
With two tough divisional matchups on deck in the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions over the next two weeks, Green Bay's rushing attack would feel an absence from Jacobs. But Lloyd's progress toward a return could turn out to be coming at the perfect moment.