Packer Central

With MarShawn Lloyd Designated to Return from IR, Tough Choices for Packers

Rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd could add a new element to the Packers’ offense – so long as he can stay healthy.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd
Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd has been designated to return from injured reserve, meaning the Green Bay Packers could soon add an explosive element to their offense.

They’d also have a crowded backfield.

Josh Jacobs ranks among the NFL leaders in rushing, yards per carry and yards after contact. He has been everything the Packers hoped he’d be when they signed him in free agency.

Emanuel Wilson shared carries with Jacobs for a big chunk of the first half of the season. He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

When Lloyd went on injured reserve, Chris Brooks was promoted from the practice squad. Brooks, who is averaging 4.1 yards per carry, has become a valuable role player because of his superb blitz-pickup skills.

Lloyd would add a fourth back to an offense that averaged 30.0 carries per game the last five weeks. Jacobs, the workhorse of the group, commands the bulk of the workload.

Jacobs, Wilson and Brooks are all brawlers, though. While they’re not slow, they’re not breakaway threats. Jacobs has four runs of 30-plus yards but none longer than 38. Wilson’s long was 19 yards vs. Detroit.

That’s where Lloyd – who ranked among the national leaders in yards per carry last year at USC – could make a difference if he can get on the field and stay on the field.

What would he add?

“That speed you can’t teach. You cannot teach that speed,” Jacobs said after Monday’s practice. “The way that he goes in and out of his cuts, the way that he’s electric. That’s the only way I can explain it. I’m excited to see him play. He’s going to be a good back.”

The Packers have an opening on the 53-man roster following Tuesday’s trade of Preston Smith. After the trade, general manager Brian Gutekunst said the vacant roster spot could go to Lloyd; the team would not have to make that move until the day before Sunday’s game at the Chicago Bears.

For now, Lloyd could practice for three weeks before the Packers would have to make a decision.

This will be the latest reboot for Lloyd.

A third-round pick, he suffered a hip injury in a rookies-only workout before the official start of training camp.

Next, in the preseason opener, he suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of training camp and the season-opening game.

In his NFL debut against the Colts in Week 2, he suffered an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve.

Jacobs, the veteran leader of the running back room, did his best to keep Lloyd from feeling too sorry for himself.

“Every day,” Jacobs said. “I make him ride with me on the way to practice every day just because coming in as a rookie, man, it’s hard. There’s a lot of things that you’ve got to teach yourself. In college, they make it mandatory to do certain things but in the league, you’ve got to go out of your way to do it – whether it’s recovery, whether it's extra time stretching, whether it’s the way you’re eating, all of types of things, and just the mentality that he needs to have.

“He got a little down when he got hurt again. And he’s like, ‘Man, I’m dealing with this again’. I just told him, ‘Man, be patient. When your time comes, just let your presence be felt. You can only control what you can control.’ He’s going to be a good running back in this league. I’m excited to see him go this week.”

Jacobs’ motto of “Who Cares?” – it’s emblazoned on hoodies he bought for his teammates – resonated with Lloyd.

“Every time I get frustrated, I have a guy like Josh Jacobs,” Lloyd said after the injury. “He knows, he’s been through it. Every time I say something about it or I’ll come up to him and I’ll say like, ‘Can’t catch a break,’ Josh will stop me right in the nick of it and be like, ‘It happens.’

“Like he said yesterday, who cares? Who cares? That’s something that I really like that he said to me. ‘Who cares? Just do what you can do. Accept the adversity and just get better.’ At the end of the day, there’s going to be something that comes good that comes out, so I’m just taking things day by day and, eventually, I’m going to be ready to go.”

More Green Bay Packers News 

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.