When the Packers reduced their roster to 53, one of their transactions was placing running back AJ Dillon on injured reserve without a designation to return.
That meant Green Bay was shutting Dillon down for the 2024 season after he suffered a neck injury earlier this month.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst noted the team was not comfortable putting Dillon at risk of further injury. The running back had previously gone through a neck issue last year as well.
If Dillon gets cleared, he could negotiate an injury settlement with Green Bay and potentially play elsewhere.
Head coach Matt LaFleur noted in his Wednesday press conference that the Packers were planning on using Dillon plenty this season, potentially with free-agent signee Josh Jacobs.
“It’s discouraging because we had a pretty clear vision for what he could do,” LaFleur said, via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It wasn’t just going to be as a runner. I thought his versatility was what I was most excited about, just being able to kind of do a lot of different things, in regards to some of the stuff that we did a year ago with him when we had some of our two-halfback sets.
“So, that certainly leaves us with a void. But that’s life in the National Football League. You’ve got to adapt or die, so we better adapt.”
Dillon, 26, rushed for 613 yards with two touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 223 yards in 2023.