Packers Provide Update on Injured Running Back MarShawn Lloyd

A third-round pick last year, Lloyd’s career could hardly have gotten off to a worse start. He played 10 snaps in one game as a rookie, his season derailed again and again and again.

- As was the case this year, the rookies arrived a few days before the first practice of last year’s training camp. Lloyd sustained a hip injury, which sidelined him for the first couple weeks of full-squad practices.

- In his preseason debut, Lloyd went down with a hamstring injury, which resulted in him missing the rest of training camp and Week 1.

- Lloyd made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the Colts. He got the ball in seven out of 10 snaps before sustaining an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve.

- As he was set to return to action for the midseason game at Chicago, he had appendicitis and went to the hospital for an appendectomy. So, it was back to injured reserve.

- Lloyd made one last push to get on the field but suffered a hamstring injury.

“Brutal. It sucked,” Lloyd said last week of his rookie season.

The Packers envisioned Lloyd as the explosive sidekick to the power running of Jacobs.

“I think my speed is something they can use a lot,” Lloyd said. “I think I have a specific skill-set that the team likes and I know that skill-set that I attained, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I can do to help the team. I know I can do it, so I’m just going to keep grinding each day and show my worth.”

LaFleur said Lloyd was off to a “great” start to camp. Quarterback Jordan Love agreed.

“It’s tough” to lose him, Love said on Tuesday. “Anytime a guy goes down with any type of injury, it’s tough. Especially a guy like MarShawn, obviously, he’s been battling through some things last year with the injuries, so you hate to see that. 

“It's one of those things where he’s got to do a great job in treatment and rehab with the trainers to be able to get back as fast as possible because every rep that he gets is going to be so valuable for him, and then preseason is going to be a big deal for him so, obviously, we want to get him back as soon as possible.”

Initially, the belief was Lloyd was injured on a questionable hit by cornerback Nate Hobbs. Upon further review, LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst said it appeared Lloyd suffered the injury before he was hit.

“As he kind of came around the corner there, he planted to change directions and I think something grabbed on him a little bit,” Gutekunst said. “I feel for him because he’s worked so far to get his body into elite shape and overcome some of these injuries. Sometimes, you’re a little bit snakebit.”

Gutekunst came up with an old-school reference. In 1996, the Packers used a third-round pick on offensive lineman Mike Flanagan. He didn’t play as a rookie or in 1997, and he played in only two games in 1998. Through four years, he started two games, then started 64 games with the Packers – including Pro Bowl honors in 2003 – and 86 total in his career.

 “Whenever I see players go through this, from time to time we’ll have guys go through things like this where they have a bunch of injuries early, I always think of Mike Flanagan,” Gutekunst said. “There was probably a lot of times where people thought, ‘OK, well, that’s never going to work,’ but they hung on and he was a great player for a long time for us here.

“Sometimes that’s hard to explain to a player, just to keep the faith and keep patience because I’m sure this has been tough on him, but he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and more to overcome these things, and I’m sure there’ll be a time where he will.”

With Lloyd out again, it gives last year’s backups, Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks, further opportunities to secure their roles on this year’s team. Wilson rushed for more than 500 yards last year while the sturdy Brooks offers running back-fullback versatility.

What is LaFleur looking for from a backup running back?

“Same thing we look for in Josh,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, you want guys that are versatile, guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield. Certainly, in the passing game, they’ve got to be back to pick up protections and just be productive, being consistent, doing all the little things, playing with the right fundamentals, the right eyes, being able to read it one gap at a time. I think that’s all imperative of great running back play.”