On Tuesday, the Packers placed running back AJ Dillon on injured reserve with a neck injury and didn't designate him to return, putting an end to his 2024 season.
While the move helped Green Bay reduce its roster to 53, it's still quite the blow to the team's backfield depth. Head coach Matt LaFleur reiterated just that on Wednesday.
"That certainly leaves us with a void," LaFleur said, via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But that's life in the National Football League. You've got to adapt or die, so we better adapt."
Dillon wasn't in line to be the Packers' starting running back after they went out and signed veteran Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency this offseason, but LaFleur said they had a plan for Dillon, nonetheless.
"It's discouraging because we had a pretty clear vision for what he could do,” LaFleur added. "It wasn't just going to be as a runner. I thought his versatility was what I was most excited about, just being able to kind of do a lot of different things, in regards to some of the stuff that we did a year ago with him when we had some of our two-halfback sets."
Green Bay will now likely turn to rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd, the team's third-round pick (No. 88) in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Lloyd has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 10, but the Packers never put him on injured reserve, hinting he could soon make his return.
Even if he does, however, LaFleur wants to make sure he's up to speed ahead of the regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6.
"We'll see where he's at," LaFleur concluded. "We haven't practiced for a few days. We'll get him out there today and see where he's at, run around. He can handle most (of the) playbook. It's not like he hasn't been learning. It's just the application of taking it from the classroom and applying it in a real game setting, you wish you had a little more exposure."
In the meantime, that could open the door for running back Emanuel Wilson or practice squaders Ellis Merriweather and Nate McCrary to have increased roles to start the season.
Dillon, 26, rushed for 613 yards and two touchdowns while also reeling in 22 catches for 223 yards in 2023.
