A nice surprise for the Green Bay Packers to start on-field preparations for Week 1: rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd returned to practice on Sunday, according to Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com.
Lloyd, a third-round pick out of USC, injured his hamstring during the Packers’ preseason opener vs. the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 10. His return to the field came three weeks and a day later — potentially giving Lloyd enough time to get ready for Friday’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.
“We’ll see, we’ll give him the week to watch him as he progresses,” coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday. “We’re going to be smart with him. He was limited today, but he’s doing more and more. We’ll see where he’s at.”
The Packers kept Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson on the 53-man roster behind starter Josh Jacobs to start the season, suggesting Lloyd would be healthy sooner than the four-week minimum stay on injured reserve. A.J. Dillon, meanwhile, went to season-ending injured reserve.
Lloyd missed the start of training camp with a minor hip injury and then injured his hamstring on his one and only rushing attempt of the preseason. His lack of reps this summer could hinder his ability to get on the field early in the regular season.
In fact, it’s possible Lloyd and Wilson will split work behind Jacobs until the rookie is ready physically and mentally to handle a bigger role.
“We don’t want to give him something he’s never done before, I think that’s unfair to the player,” LaFleur said. “We have to teach him, put him through it and then have that confidence that he can go execute that in the game.”
The Packers will put out their first injury report of the week on Monday. Not only was Lloyd available to practice Sunday, but everyone on the 53-man roster participated in some capacity.
Welcome to Week 1️⃣
Everyone on the #Packers’ 53-man roster is practicing, including new K Brayden Narveson & RB MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring).
There won’t be an injury report today fyi pic.twitter.com/QFrIVMz1S8
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) September 1, 2024
Lloyd was the 88th pick in the 2024 draft. He led South Carolina in rushing yards in 2022 and USC in rushing yards in 2023.
