The Green Bay Packers may have to open the 2026 season without Josh Jacobs, leaving MarShawn Lloyd with the biggest opportunity of his young NFL career.
And quarterback Jordan Love has made clear what he expects from the third-year running back.
With Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list, WTAQ reported Thursday that Lloyd is expected to take on a significantly heftier workload. Love’s message to his teammate was straightforward.
“That’s what they brought you here to do, is to go be the player that everybody knows you can be,” Love said.
The assignment would represent a dramatic jump for Lloyd. The former third-round pick has only six regular-season carries since Green Bay selected him out of USC in 2024, with injuries repeatedly interrupting his first two seasons.
Now, Lloyd could go from waiting for his shot to taking starting reps as the Packers prepare for Week 1.
Love Backs Lloyd for Bigger Packers Role
There has never been much question about the talent Green Bay sees in Lloyd. Availability has prevented the Packers from finding out how far that talent can take him.
Packers.com reported Wednesday that Lloyd is “quite likely” to enter Week 1 as Green Bay’s feature back if Jacobs remains unavailable. General manager Brian Gutekunst also said Lloyd is “as ready as he’s ever been since he’s been here” after the running back put together a healthy training camp.
Love has watched that progress up close, including the time Lloyd spent learning behind Jacobs.
“He hasn’t had the game reps, but he’s been working. He’s been watching Josh [Jacobs], he’s been in practice doing great things,” Love said, via WTAQ.
“It’s just for him, finding consistency, staying healthy and going out there and making plays.”
Lloyd offered a look of what he can provide during the preseason. He carried 10 times for 30 yards across two games and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Love during Green Bay’s 33-13 win over the Denver Broncos on Aug. 21.
The score was Lloyd’s first touchdown since his final college season at USC in 2023, per Packers.com. More importantly, he made it through camp healthy after soft-tissue injuries derailed much of his first two years.
Green Bay may now need that progress to carry into September.
Packers Don’t Plan Offensive Shift Without Jacobs
Replacing Jacobs’ individual production is another matter.
Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025 while adding 36 receptions for 282 yards and another score. He remains on the commissioner’s exempt list while his legal case is under league review, leaving his timetable uncertain.
Despite that absence, Love said Green Bay does not intend to alter its offensive identity.
“I don’t think as an offense it changes what we’ll be doing,” Love said, via WTAQ.
That puts considerable faith in Lloyd and the rest of the backfield. Chris Brooks returns after rushing for 106 yards on 27 carries last season, while Green Bay acquired Kaleb Johnson ahead of roster cuts to give the room another option.
Lloyd, however, appears positioned to get the first crack at the larger role.
He told Packers.com that he is ready to play “as much as they want me to play,” a notable statement for a back who has yet to handle anything resembling an NFL starter’s workload.
There will naturally be questions about how many touches Green Bay is willing to put on Lloyd right off the bat. He surpassed 15 carries only three times during his college career, and head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week that Lloyd’s workload remains something the Packers will determine as they go.
In the end, Love’s comments suggest the quarterback believes Lloyd has done enough behind the scenes to earn it. Week 1 could provide the first real look at the role Green Bay envisioned when it drafted him.
Packers’ Jordan Love Sends Message to Potential Josh Jacobs Replacement Before Week 1