It hasn't been a good start to MarShawn Lloyd's career with the Green Bay Packers. The young running back only managed to play in one game for this team over two years, as he is still on injured reserve dealing with a hamstring injury.
Last week, head coach Matt LaFleur said Lloyd is getting "closer" but still has some levels to clear before getting back on the field. Nonetheless, the Packers have relied on Emanuel Wilson as the RB2 in the offense, and the results have been underwhelming to say the least.
With that in mind, Wilson's struggles show that Lloyd may in fact have a spot in rotation whenever he gets back on the field.
MarShawn Lloyd Spot in RB Rotation May Be Still Available After All
Wilson is second on the team in team snaps (77) at running back this season. In Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals, he played in a season-high 34% of the offensive snaps (19 total plays) but didn't do much in those reps. He finished with seven carries for 19 rushing yards, along with one catch for one receiving yard.
This should have been an ideal matchup for Wilson to step up, considering that Josh Jacobs was dealing with a calf injury and illness. In addition to that, the Cardinals defense gave up 150-plus rushing yards from Weeks 4-6.
It looked like there could be some success there but Wilson didn't capitalize. Instead, he looked lackluster out there and it still looks like Lloyd is the best bet behind Jacobs.
The biggest problem with Lloyd is that wasn't been able to stay healthy. As a rookie in 2024, he played in one game due to hip, hamstring, and ankle injuries. He even had appendicitis, which caused him to have an emergency appendectomy.
The list is getting long with different injuries but the Packers can't hide that when healthy, he's their second best tailback. In his collegiate career with South Carolina and USC, Lloyd had 1,621 rushing yards and 19 rushing scores. He added 452 receiving yards and two receiving scores as well. It would be great if he stayed healthy enough to replicate even a fraction of that success on an NFL field.
While the Packers have yet to see Lloyd in full force in the NFL due to his injuries, Green Bay may not have a better backup option on the team. Whenever he gets healthy in 2025, he could be asked to spell Jacobs at times, since no one has stepped up as a reliable backup so far this season.