The Green Bay Packers did not make the situation with banged-up running back MarShawn Lloyd sound optimistic when they spoke to reporters about his new groin injury ahead of Tuesday’s second padded practice of 2025 training camp.
They also shared a troubling detail about how Lloyd sustained his injury.
Lloyd exited early from Monday’s practice after taking a low hit from cornerback Nate Hobbs on an outside pitch play and limping off the field with the team’s trainers. The initial thought had been that Hobbs’ contact — which drew him another warning from the Packers’ coaches — had injured Lloyd, but the team now believes otherwise.
Before Tuesday’s practice, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur both indicated that it “didn’t look like” Lloyd suffered his injury when he made contact with Hobbs. Instead, they said it seemed to be a non-contact injury.
“It’s hard, you never really know,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “But it did look like he stuck his foot, and he never put it back in the ground when he had an opportunity to, so that would lead me to believe [his groin injury] happened prior to the hit.”
MarShawn Lloyd Missed Most of 2024 With Injuries
Lloyd suffering a non-contact injury in practice is troubling, especially considering how badly injuries mucked up the 2024 third-round pick’s rookie season with the Packers.
Early in his first training camp, Lloyd dealt with a hip injury that kept him off the field. He also suffered a hamstring injury during his preseason debut that left him sidelined through the first week of the 2024 regular season and, consequently, put him behind.
Fortunately, Lloyd returned to the lineup after missing just one game, but his bad luck continued when he sprained his ankle six carries into his NFL debut and landed on the injured reserve list for roughly the next two months. Things stayed frustrating for him when he tried to return in November and doctors diagnosed him with appendicitis — which resulted in him getting an appendectomy and missing the rest of the season.
“I feel for him because he has worked so hard to get his body into elite shape and overcome some of these injuries,” Gutekunst said Tuesday, “and sometimes you’re a little bit snake-bit.”
MarShawn Lloyd’s ‘Done Everything’ Packers Have Asked
The Packers will wait until they have a clearer diagnosis on Lloyd before jumping to conclusions about whether he will need to miss significant time again with an injury.
Another time-consuming injury would be a serious setback for Lloyd, who is trying to establish himself as the No. 2 rushing option in the Packers offense behind superstar teammate Josh Jacobs, who rushed for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. As LaFleur emphasized Tuesday, he “needs” the experience after his rookie season.
Behind the scenes, though, the Packers are pleased with how Lloyd has carried himself over the past year as he has worked through his injuries and taken the team’s direction.
“Sometimes it’s hard to explain to a player to just 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 that there will be a time where he will,” Gutekunst said.
Josh Jacobs: Marshawn Lloyd is ‘Going to Be Alright’
The Packers have not formally made an update on Lloyd’s status since speaking with the media before Tuesday’s practice. Local reporters noted that Lloyd was at practice walking around on the sideline, but the team expectedly held him out of the session.
If Josh Jacobs’ word means anything, though — and it should, given his close friendship with Lloyd — the Packers might not have much to worry about with his groin injury.
“He’s going to be alright, man,” Jacobs said about Lloyd after Tuesday’s practice, via NBC 26’s John Miller. “He’s not about to miss much time. I don’t really know the extent of his injury, but I know it’s not nothing major, so he’s going to be alright.”
