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WR/QB Alex McGough was also added to the practice squad
The Green Bay Packers had running back MarShawn Lloyd, who was originally on the injured reserve for an ankle injury, return to practice last week — which opened up a 21-day window where the team needed to decide to bring him up to the 53-man roster or he’d revert to season-ending injured reserve. Unfortunately, Lloyd was discovered to have appendicitis, which will keep him sidelined even longer than that window allowed, just two days into his return.
At the time, head coach Matt LaFleur stated that he was unsure how the league would treat the situation, as Lloyd’s inability to return to the field was obviously not tied to the injury that first landed him on the injured reserve. It looks like the Packers cooked up a plan to get around the IR mechanism.
First, Lloyd was activated to the 53-man roster, which had an open spot after the squad traded defensive end Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers and placed rookie first-round offensive lineman Jordan Morgan on the injured reserve while only adding cornerback Robert Rochell to the active roster. On Wednesday, after practice, Lloyd was officially placed on the non-football injury list by the Packers, which means that the team can bring him back to the 53-man roster whenever they’d like without the limitations that come with the injured reserve’s rules.
Unfortunately for Lloyd, this also means that Green Bay can pay him as little as $0 until he’s healthy enough to come back to the team, as his appendicitis is counted as a “non-football” injury. The Packers typically don’t do so, though, as they typically split the difference between $0 and a player’s weekly salary when their players land on the NFI list.
Aside from Lloyd, the Packers also signed “receiver” Alex McGough to their practice squad today. McGough previously spent the 2023 season and 2024 offseason with Green Bay before being released with an injury designation in July. McGough is originally a quarterback, though he did fill in as a “look team” receiver and tight end in 2023.
The Packers had an open practice squad spot because of the promotion of Rochell to the active roster last week. McGough joins Malik Knowles, Cornelius Johnson and Julian Hicks as receivers on the practice squad.
