MarShawn Lloyd’s Week 1 showing left the Packers with more questions than answers, and now the margin for error is getting thin fast.
In Green Bay’s loss in Minnesota, the starting running back got the kind of chance most players wait years for. Lloyd handled 13 carries, but they produced only 37 yards against a Vikings defense that ranked 22nd in rushing yards allowed per game in 2025. He more than doubled the carries he had in his first two years in the league, and the return was rough: 2.8 yards per attempt and a 46.2% success rate.
The frustrating part for Green Bay is that it’s tough to pin the blame on just one thing. The Vikings’ front made life hard.
The Packers’ offensive line didn’t help. And Lloyd himself never really seized the moment.
He didn’t look especially fast, elusive, or explosive, and there were multiple chances where a sharper burst or a more physical finish could have turned a modest gain into something much bigger.
Right now, that performance makes it difficult to see Lloyd as anything more than a replacement-level backup, which leaves the Packers with a narrow set of choices. They can wait for Josh Jacobs to be reinstated and deal with whatever comes next.
They can explore trades or free agency. They can turn to sophomore Kaleb Johnson.
Or they can keep rolling with Lloyd and hope Week 1 was just a bad opening act.
That next audition comes in a tougher spot. Green Bay heads to New York in Week 2, and the Jets’ front has already shown it can squeeze an offense. If Lloyd can’t find a way to break through there, the Packers may be forced to start looking in another direction.
Lloyd, 25 and a South Carolina product, has drawn steady praise from the Packers’ coaching staff and front office over the years while working through constant injuries. He’s also earned a reputation as a positive presence in the locker room, but that kind of goodwill won’t keep him on the field. In the NFL, production wins out.
And Green Bay doesn’t have much patience to spare. The offense needs a functioning run game, and the team isn’t built to waste the season while waiting on answers. If the Packers stumble again against the Jets and fall to 0-2, Lloyd’s hold on the job gets shaky in a hurry.
The larger picture still points back to Jacobs. Whether the Packers say it outright or not, they’re hoping he gets cleared or that an official suspension comes down so he can reclaim the backfield later in the season.
If Lloyd responds and starts producing, he could make Matt LaFleur consider more of a 1A/1B setup. If not, a cut candidate conversation may come sooner than anyone expected.
New York won’t make that decision any easier. The Jets allowed just 68 rushing yards in Week 1 against the Titans and held Tony Pollard to 35 on the ground. That’s the kind of defense that can expose a back who’s still trying to prove he belongs.
So yes, it’s early. But for Lloyd, the situation already feels like a test he has to pass now, not later. Week 2 may not decide everything, but it could tell the Packers plenty about whether he’s ready to claim the role in front of him.
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