A.J. Dillon’s season is over.
The Green Bay Packers placed the running back on injured reserve on Tuesday, ending his 2024 season before it could begin.
Dillon missed the final three games of last season after he sustained a neck injury. While he recovered from that stinger this offseason, Dillon went down with a similar neck injury during the Packers’ joint practice with the Denver Broncos last week. He said last week while waiting for more tests that the injury felt different than the one he sustained last season.
“I’ve had stingers in the past before the end of last year,” Dillon said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Some are more severe than others, so you kind of look at them differently. But we’re waiting to get opinions back and see all the information before we make any statements that are untrue.”
While specifics of his injury aren’t yet known, it’s severe enough to keep him sidelined for all of the 2024 campaign.
Dillon ran for 613 yards and had two touchdowns last season, his fourth with the Packers. He has been Aaron Jones’ longtime backup in Green Bay, who first selected him with the No. 62 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Packers released Jones earlier this offseason and brought in Josh Jacobs in free agency. Jacobs spent his first five seasons in the league with the Las Vegas Raiders, and he racked up 805 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 13 games last season.
Dillon, who signed a one-year deal to return to Green Bay, was expected to take a significant chunk of snaps behind Jacobs this season. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Dillion was in “THE best shape” he’s seen during training camp. With Dillon now sidelined, the Packers will likely have to lean on Emanuel Wilson while rookie MarShawn Lloyd is recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Packers, who went 9-8 last season and made the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five years, will open their season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6 in Brazil.
Fantasy spin: A.J. Dillon wasn’t a player most fantasy football managers were actively pursuing in drafts this year, but his absence for the season does seem to have cleared up some confusion (at least, for now) about the Packers running back committee.
Josh Jacobs is the unquestioned starter for 2024, and he always has been, but some questions about the potential to rotate between Dillon and rookie MarShawn Lloyd had some fantasy managers on the fence about whether or not his second-round ADP in Yahoo Drafts was worth it. By all accounts, even if Jacobs is as inefficient as he was in his final season with the Las Vegas Raiders, his pathway to volume on an ascending offense should maintain his value as an RB1 in fantasy this year.
Third-round rookie MarShawn Lloyd isn’t healthy right now either unfortunately, but he did avoid a stint on IR to start the season, which is good news for his potential availability for a second-half surge. The true backup for Jacobs right now might just be Emanuel Wilson, a 25-year-old former UDFA who totaled 18 touches for 108 scrimmage yards as a rookie in 2023. — Kate Magdziuk
