AJ Dillon Injury Update Could Doom Roster Chances Ahead of Cutdown Day
With training camp winding down, the Green Bay Packers have some big decisions to make at key positions. Running back already has two spots taken by Josh Jacobs and rookie MarShawn Lloyd, leaving both AJ Dillon and Emanuel Wilson fighting over the RB3 job.
Wilson's impressive summer has pushed Dillon even closer to the chopping block, and now a new injury may be the final nail in the coffin for the latter.
Packers RB AJ Dillon had a stinger last season vs. Minnesota late in the year and is dealing with the same injury now.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 21, 2024
Matt LaFleur said they’re “being cautious” and gathering info before he’s allowed to return because “anytime you have a repeated injury there’s concern.”
On Wednesday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur revealed Dillon has been sidelined this week after suffering a stinger. It's the same injury the RB dealt with to end last season, so the team is now being extremely "cautious" due to the "concern" about this being a repeated issue.
This is purely bad news for Dillon as he looks to remain in Green Bay past cutdown day. As someone in the middle of a heated position battle who's far from a guarantee to make the roster, he needs every rep and live-game snap he can get to convince LaFleur's staff he's worth keeping around.
Yet, this injury changes things. A stinger knocked Dillon out of the team's Week 17 game against the Minnesota Vikings last season, and then sidelined him for the regular season finale, plus both of the Packers' postseason contests, And before that, he picked up a broken thumb that sidelined him in Week 15.
Availability at a crucial position is important for any depth piece on a contender like Green Bay. It's possible that Dillon, now 26, is showing potential signs of the dreaded running back downturn after four seasons in the league -- the last three of which featured over 175 carries every single year.
Considering his already-shaky footing, coupled with Wilson's emergence and now a legit injury, Dillon's time at Lambeau may be coming to a close.
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