Fresh off their preseason clash with the Colts, the Packers‘ backfield picture is finally coming into focus. No surprises at the top—Josh Jacobs is the guy. After piling up 1,329 rushing yards last season, he’s locked in as RB1 and ready to be the heartbeat of Green Bay’s ground game. But it’s the depth chart right behind him that’s been a little messier. MarShawn Lloyd, a former third-rounder, was penciled in as the RB2 this offseason. The team fed him steady second-team reps at camp.

Then came the familiar problem—injuries. Lloyd’s rookie year was already a story of setbacks, and just as year 2 was supposed to be his clean slate, the injury bug has circled back. It happened against the Colts. The second-year RB went for just 15 yards on six carries, but he grabbed a pretty 33-yard catch out of the backfield. Many believed it was the highlight of camp for Lloyd, and so did the RB himself. But there had been a wrinkle.

AS Lloyd made the catch, he stumbled and re-injured the same hamstring that had been causing trouble in his performance. When asked about the RB’s health, Matt LaFleur had nothing much to say. “We’ll see,” he said. Fast forward to now, and Dr. Jesse Morse shared the latest insight on the RB’s health. However, it’s not much to be optimistic about.

“He (Lloyd) tweaked his groin a couple of weeks ago, which managed to come back,” Morse said. “And then last night, he suffered another hamstring strain, which could threaten potentially week one. This is almost exactly what happened last year and essentially derailed his rookie season. Now, this is pretty concerning because most expected Lloyd to fill in as that RB2 behind Josh Jacobs in a really good Green Bay Packers’ offense. But if this ends up being more than just a super, super low-key grade 1, that might force him to potentially start the season on the PUP.”

It’s the script we’ve seen before. Drafted by the Packers with the 88th overall pick, Lloyd was supposed to play a significant role in the Packers’ running game last year. But a hip problem interrupted his rookie training camp, which forced him to miss the Week 1 matchup. He returned healthy in Week 2 against the Colts, ran for 15 yards on six carries, sure. But then he hurt his ankle, and Green Bay placed him on IR.

Then again, he hoped to return. The twist? An appendicitis that required surgery. Just like that, MarShawn Lloyd’s rookie season was over. Fast forward to the 2025 offseason, and a hamstring strain has interrupted his offseason drills. The second-year RB returned to the Packers’ practice last week only. He showed up in the preseason against the Colts, but sustained another hamstring strain. Yes, again the Colts. Once again.

Marshawn Lloyd’s hamstring strain has Matt LaFleur worried

Injuries have been the theme of 2025 training camps, and sadly, Matt LaFleur’s Packers didn’t dodge that bullet either. Jordan Love went down with a thumb injury that required him to go under the knife. And now, the second-year running back, MarShawn Lloyd, is the latest entry in this list, leaving the quarterback’s running-back unit in limbo behind Jacobs.

They say injuries are part of the game, and they’re right. But in the case of Lloyd, that injury bug just won’t stop biting. “To be honest, I have not, and I don’t think any of us have, or very few of us have,” the Packers’ running back coach, Ben Sirmans, admitted when asked about coaching a player with worse luck. While Jesse Morse has clarified the severity of his injury, you can feel the frustration brewing in the locker room as it had the HC started questioning the team’s medical staff.

“Those are my questions to our medical staff all the time. Is there anything else that we could be doing, or that he should be doing? He’s in great shape … I think you’ve got to chalk it up to some bad luck,” LaFleur said. Lloyd has been in great shape; there’s no denying that. However, the real fight for the RB isn’t strength; it’s staying on the field. And that’s where the bad luck kicks in. With another hamstring strain reported, it’s likely Marshawn Lloyd will start the regular season on the PUP.