Green Bay Packers running back Marshawn Lloyd (32) has missed 33 of 34 NFL games due to a bevy of injuries.
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Prove it.
That’s been Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur’s message to third year running back Marshawn Lloyd this offseason.
To date, the oft-injured Lloyd has proven nothing. He hopes things finally begin to change in 2026.
“I can’t do anything until I make it happen,” said Lloyd, the Packers third round draft pick in 2024. “Coach LaFleur says, prove it. If I want to change that narrative, prove it.”
In two NFL seasons, Lloyd’s stat line reads like this: one game, six carries, 15 yards.
Lloyd has missed a remarkable 33 of 34 games with hamstring, ankle, groin and calf injuries, as well as an emergency appendectomy. In the one game Lloyd played — against Indianapolis in Week 2 of 2024 — he logged just 10 snaps.
With Josh Jacobs facing potential legal issues and the running room devoid of a proven No. 2 back, the Packers would love to count on Lloyd in 2026. But that’s risky business the way his first two seasons have gone.
“I think the proof will be in the pudding,” LaFleur said of Lloyd. “He’s got to show that consistently over the course of all of OTAs, into training camp, into the preseason, and then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Lloyd, who stands just 5-foot-8 ½ and weighs 215, was the fourth running back taken in the 2024 draft behind Jonathon Brooks of Texas (pick No. 46 to Carolina), Florida State’s Trey Benson (No. 66, Arizona) and Michigan’s Blake Corum (No. 83, Los Angeles Rams).
On draft weekend, Lloyd made a lofty prediction.
“I’m the best running back in the draft, for sure,” Lloyd said.
That statement seems laughable today after Lloyd has had two wasted seasons.
Lloyd missed the 2024 season opener with a hamstring injury. Then after playing in Week 2 against the Colts, Lloyd spent seven weeks on the injured reserve list with an ankle injury.
When Lloyd finally appeared ready to return, he suffered an emergency appendectomy and missed the rest of the season.
In 2025, Lloyd pulled a groin at the start of training camp, then suffered a severe hamstring injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season. Lloyd also dealt with a calf injury and additional hamstring strains as he tried to return, and never saw the field last season.
“It was definitely hard,” Lloyd said. “It was definitely hard being on the sideline knowing I could help. I know I can be a part of this team and help in any way possible. I think that was the biggest thing.”
Lloyd spent the majority of his offseason at the Meyer Institute of Sport in El Segundo, Calif, working with Dr. John Meyer.
“California’s expensive,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd is optimistic it will be money well spent, though, as he and Meyer targeted several areas that needed improvement.
“Honestly just the deficiency in my body, things not being as strong, overcompensating, back to all the way from college, my ACL, just things that didn’t get the strength they needed,” Lloyd said. “I had to re-evaluate that, get my quads stronger, get my whole body stronger, honestly. I’ve been able to go to him, get those things figured out. It’s been really good.”
The Packers still have a sliver of hope that Lloyd can be “really good” for them.
Lloyd averaged 7.1 yards per carry with USC during his final college season in 2023. He then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and seemingly has big play potential — if he can stay on the field.
“I mean he can do things that the other guys can’t, in terms of his speed and quickness,” Green Bay running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “He’s the fastest and the quickest guy that we have. So if he’s healthy … for him to be there, it does make our job easier from having another guy back there that’s going to add some explosiveness to the offense.”
Lloyd knows this is likely his last chance to impress. In fact, he admits he feels fortunate the Packers have stuck with him this long.
“Usually in the NFL … you don’t play for two years, you’re gone,” Lloyd said.
Instead, he’s still in Green Bay, and believes he can be a difference maker.
Now is the time to “prove it”, or it’s likely Lloyd will be out of chances.
“That’s never been a doubt,” Lloyd said of why he believes he can thrive. “I know I’m meant to be here. I know the team believes in me, and I believe in myself a lot. It’ll be fun. It’ll be fun.
“There’s a lot of people that still believe in me as well. I know when my time comes and it’s time to go, I’ll show a lot of people why the Packers drafted me, almost three years ago now. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re coming, though.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com