A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has failed to establish himself through the first two seasons of his career. Thanks to myriad injury issues, Lloyd has appeared in just one NFL game and collected just six carries so far as a pro. Still, the 25-year-old enters 2026 with a clear opportunity to carve out a role in the Packers' backfield. Green Bay lost former RB2 Emanuel Wilson in free agency, and RB1 Josh Jacobs is currently battling some off-field issues that could lead to a league-mandated suspension at some point during the upcoming season. Even if Jacobs avoids discipline from the league, he's entering his age-28 season and has already racked up over 2,100 touches in his NFL career. If Lloyd can beat out similarly unproven Packers backs Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr. for the team's RB2 role, he could be one of the better handcuff running back options in fantasy football. At his current redraft ADP of RB62, Lloyd may be undervalued heading into 2026
The Packers have already extended WRs Jayden Reed and Christian Watson. The article discusses which other players on expiring contracts, particularly starters like TE Tucker Kraft and DE Devonte Wyatt, might receive extensions before the 2027 offseason, while noting that CB Keisean Nixon may be unlikely to be extended due to age and position
Strong spent the 2025 campaign on the Packers' practice squad, but he didn't log a regular-season snap with the team. The departure of Emanuel Wilson (Seattle) in free agency opens up increased opportunities for Strong to carve out a depth role behind Josh Jacobs, but Chris Brooks and 2024 third-rounder MarShawn Lloyd stand as the clear favorites for the top reserve gigs. Strong will compete with Damien Martinez for the No. 4 job in Green Bay
Josh Jacobs returned to Green Bay Packers OTAs on Tuesday, participating in team drills alongside MarShawn Lloyd and Damien Martinez. This comes as the team continues voluntary practices amidst an ongoing investigation into Jacobs. Head coach Matt LaFleur indicated it's "business as usual" on the field for Jacobs. The team also saw other players returning and rookies getting involved in different positions
On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers had their first media-open organized team activities of the 2026 offseason . Unfortunately, their running back room was a little thin, as Josh Jacobs was just being released from jail that day and both MarShawn Lloyd and Damien Martinez were unavailable to use during team drills due to injury. This left just the following players to play running back for the Packers: blocking back Chris Brooks , 2025 practice squadder Pierre Strong Jr. and 2026 undrafted free agent rookie Jaden Nixon. So, with Green Bay ’s thin running back room (and the looming cloud around Jacobs) in mind, I wanted to take a look at what’s going on with the United Football League, whose players will start becoming available to sign next month. To my surprise, of the eight UFL teams, three teams’ leaders in rushing are former Packers. The league-leader in rushing right now is Jarveon Howard , who has taken 100 carries (2nd most in UFL) for 430 yards, but somehow is the only back among the top 16 in yards who hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown. Howard, who played at Syracuse and Alcorn State , got his start in the NFL with the Packers in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He was waived with an injury designation during training camp of his rookie year, but caught wind with the St. Louis Battlehawks during the 2025 season. He signed with the Buffalo Bills following his first stint with the UFL, but was waived with an injury designation after just one day in Buffalo. After that, he returned to St. Louis, where he plays today. James Robinson is sixth in the league with 83 carries for 300 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Robinson was a member of the Packers in 2023, where he played in one regular-season game and recorded one carry for two yards. Prior to his time in Green Bay, Robinson had made 32 starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets . After going two years without an NFL regular-season carry, Robinson signed with the Louisville Kings, an expansion team, where he now leads the team in rushing. The final former Packer to lead their team in rushing is Ellis Merriweather , who spent two years as a practice squadder in Green Bay. Merriweather played junior college football before transferring to UMass. After his college career, he got his first crack with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. Merriweather initially made the Saints’ practice squad in 2023, but was released shortly after. Later that year, the Packers signed him to their practice squad, re-signed him for the 2024 season and then had him on the practice squad for that year, too. He wasn’t brought back in 2025, as he finished the 2024 season on the Packers’ practice squad injured reserve. After spending the 2025 season out of the NFL, he resurfaced with the Dallas Renegades, where he’s posted 83 carreis for 268 yards and four touchdowns. — You might want to keep an eye on the final week of UFL regular-season action before the playoffs start. Considering the Packers’ running back depth and the team’s ties to some of the top rushers in the league, I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a reunion in the future
Packers RB Chris Brooks took first-team reps to begin 11-on-11 drills at OTAs on Wednesday. Brooks got the opportunity with MarShawn Lloyd sitting out team drills. Brooks signed a two-year deal with Green Bay earlier in the offseason. Pierre Strong saw reps behind Brooks on Wednesday as Josh Jacobs remains away from the team
The Green Bay Packers’ summer roster is mostly set, as the team has just one open roster spot available at the time of this article. I took the time to go position-by-position through the Packers’ roster and pin down what the biggest question I have for each position group going into camp, the things I’ll be keeping an eye on when real practices begin. As a reminder, OTAs start next week (voluntary workouts started pre-draft, and there haven’t been any reported holdouts) and minicamp will kick off on June 9th. Jordan Love is locked into the starting job for the foreseeable future, so the quarterback drama in Green Bay is going to have to come at the backup position. Tyrod Taylor , a 36-year-old with 62 NFL starts under his belt, is certainly more veteran than Kyle McCord , a 2025 draft pick who spent last season on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad. With that being said, though, Taylor only received $700,000 in guarantees in his contract , less than kicker Brandon McManus — who was released from Green Bay post-draft — made from the Packers this offseason. Taylor’s contract doesn’t really lock him into a roster spot, even if he has an inside track for the job. The Green Bay Packers chose to bring back blocking back Chris Brooks over ball-carrier Emanuel Wilson this offseason, which will give MarShawn Lloyd the opportunity to be the number two ball-carrier in Green Bay behind Josh Jacobs in 2026. Here’s the problem: The 2024 third-round pick has only played in one game over two seasons due to a brutal stretch of injuries. Obviously, with that track record, the question is whether Lloyd can stay on the field or not. If he can’t, it opens the door for a roster spot for Pierre Strong Jr., Damien Martinez or undrafted rookie Jaden Nixon. With Jayden Reed under contract for years to come and the Christian Watson extension likely coming, the Packers’ receiver room will revolve around the trio of Watson, Reed and 2024 first-round pick Matthew Golden moving forward. Here’s the thing, though: We haven’t really seen them play together. Last season, in part because of injuries to both Watson and Reed, these receivers were only on the field together for all of 14 snaps, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Here’s the good news: On those 14 plays, the Packers averaged 11.4 yards per play. They were mostly on the field together for obvious pass situations, as the team threw 12 times out of those 14 snaps. Reed, famously, has been a slot-only receiver for the Packers. Still, Green Bay likes to move Watson inside in obvious passing situations, too, to get better matchups. On top of that, Golden didn’t play a ton of true outside receiver snaps last year, as he was often motioned from inside out or outside in, rarely stagnant whenever he wasn’t playing a true slot role — which he did frequently when Reed was injured. What does a Watson, Reed and Golden offense look like? We have no idea. We have about a quarter of a game of plays to go off of from 2025. Tucker Kraft should be back on the field by the start of training camp, and he’s not a liability blocker, so that helps Green Bay in the in-line tight end department. With that being said, neither Luke Musgrave nor Josh Whyle , the other returning tight ends from the Packers’ 53-man roster, is a plus blocker. Musgrave has been used in-line for most of his Green Bay career, with below-average results as a blocker, while Whyle has been used as more of a “move” tight end in obvious passing situations. After the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted the team wanted to hit the in-line tight end market, but that value didn’t present itself (not surprising considering the crazy run at the position on Day 2). Still, Green Bay, with its run-first offense, will need a better answer than Musgrave or Whyle as in-line blockers if Kraft ever does go down. Look for the team to continue to bring in bodies throughout the summer. With Sean Rhyan receiving a new contract and Aaron Banks
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Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has had a tough time getting his career off the ground since being drafted in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Thanks to myriad injury issues, Lloyd has been active for just one game over the past two seasons and has six career NFL carries. Heading into 2026, veteran back Josh Jacobs remains firmly atop the Packers' running back depth chart. However, the team lost top backup Emanuel Wilson to the Seattle Seahawks over the offseason and did not make any notable additions to the backfield in free agency or the draft. As a result, Lloyd appears to be competing with similarly unproven backs in Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr. for the RB2 role in Green Bay. While Jacobs should dominate backfield snaps for the Packers, he's racked up nearly 650 touches over the past two seasons and has a fair bit of mileage on his legs as he enters his age-28 campaign. Should Lloyd win the backup job in Green Bay, he would immediately become one of the higher-end handcuff options in fantasy football. Despite his underwhelming NFL career to this point, Lloyd could be a solid buy-low target for fantasy managers heading into 2026
The Packers signed Strong to a reserve/future contract Monday. Strong signed with Green Bay in September as additional depth at running back, but was unable to appear in a game this season. The 27-year-old will participate in the Packers' offseason activities and compete for a spot on their active roster next season
Strong reverted to the Packers' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log. Strong was brought up to the Packers' active roster Saturday to give the team additional depth in the backfield. However, he ended up being a healthy scratch for Sunday's loss to the Broncos after Josh Jacobs (knee) and Emanuel Wilson (illness) were cleared to play. Strong hasn't played a single regular-season snap despite being elevated from the practice squad three times, and he won't be allowed to play for Green Bay for the rest of 2025 unless he's signed to the active roster
Strong (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Broncos, Mike Spofford of the Packers' official site reports. Strong was elevated from the practice squad Saturday, but his services are not needed Sunday after Josh Jacobs (knee) and Emanuel Wilson (illness) were both cleared to play. Strong has been elevated three times this season, so he'll need to be signed to the active roster in order to play for the Packers for the rest of 2025
Strong was elevated from the Packers' practice squad to the active roster Saturday. With Josh Jacobs (knee, questionable) and Emanuel Wilson (illness, questionable) both on the Packers' injury report, Strong's elevation provides much-needed depth at running back. If Jacobs or Wilson were to miss Sunday's matchup against the Broncos, Strong would likely play a depth role in Green Bay's backfield
