GREEN BAY – As NFL rookie seasons go, MarShawn Lloyd may have set the mark for a myriad of misfortune in 2024.
After hip and hamstring injuries sidelined the Packers’ rookie third-round pick for most of the summer, Lloyd injured his ankle just six carries into Green Bay’s home opener against Indianapolis.
Despite being placed on injured reserve, Lloyd stayed positive and appeared to be on the cusp of returning to the active roster in mid-November when he began feeling pain in the right side of his stomach.
The 5-foot-9, 220-pound running back reported his symptoms to the Packers’ training staff and was sent to a local hospital. The diagnosis? Appendicitis that required emergency surgery.
Lloyd didn’t play another snap this season, as he also continued to deal with his hamstring. Standing at his locker on Monday, Lloyd couldn’t help but smile when reviewing his bad luck.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Lloyd said. “That’s the thing that went through my head. I’ve always tried to (say), ‘OK, why did this happen?’ But at the end of the day you just gotta go with it.”
Heralded as a Day 2 gem by several draft pundits last April, the 24-year-old running back was expected to play a major role in Green Bay’s renovated backfield also consisting of All-Pro Josh Jacobs and fifth-year veteran AJ Dillon.
While healing from the appendectomy, Lloyd was still left searching for answers to what was going on with his hamstring. Each setback tested Lloyd’s mettle more and more.
It culminated in an enlightening consultation earlier this month with the hamstring specialists at Badger Athletic Performance on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
It’s the same experts who helped chart a path forward for both Packers receiver Christian Watson and cornerback Eric Stokes last offseason after hamstring injuries sidelined them in 2023.
“They told me how well it worked for them,” said Lloyd of his conversations with Watson and Stokes. “Just being there from last year to this year, how well they were able to stay healthy. Just being able to hear from them but also just know that it can help me, I’m excited about that.”
The BAP specialists conducted a battery of tests on Lloyd, including running on different treadmills, to check for deficiencies in his body and measure which areas may be stronger than others. The exam lasted about five total…
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