Packers RB AJ Dillon lands on the injured list with a thorn injury and has to end the season

The Green Bay Packers have placed veteran running back AJ Dillon on the injured list with no chance of returning to the team, meaning his season is over.

He suffered a stitch in the preseason and has sat out the last week or more with the injury. The Packers did not publicly announce a timetable for his return, instead saying they were awaiting further opinions on Dillon's injury. He missed three games late last season with a stitch and will now miss his fifth season in the league with another stitch.

Drafted in the second round in 2020, Dillon at times showed flashes of potential to be a star back in Green Bay, but ultimately never became much more than a No. 2 option behind Aaron Jones. Entering the 2024 season, he was projected as Josh Jacobs' backup, at least early in the year, especially with third-round rookie MarShawn Lloyd dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for the past few weeks. The Packers included Lloyd on their initial 53-man roster, along with second-year undrafted running back Emanuel Wilson.

Dillon signed for little more than the veteran minimum to complete a one-year deal with the Packers this offseason, but now his future in both Green Bay and the NFL is uncertain.

Green Bay's original roster contained a few other surprises, the most notable of which were the addition of veteran kicker Greg Joseph and the release of incumbent and 2023 draft pick Anders Carlson. Carlson (61 of 75, 81.3 percent) had a better strike rate than Joseph (58 of 74, 78.4) in practices and games this summer, but the Packers dropped the 26-year-old, who missed a kick in nine of the final 12 games last season. It's possible Joseph won't be their kicker in Week 1 either if a kicker the team likes better becomes available via waiver or free agency.

The Titans have officially announced the trade of quarterback Malik Willis to the Packers, who sent a 2025 seventh-round pick to Tennessee to get their new backup quarterback. The Packers only kept Jordan Love and Willis from their first 53 quarterbacks, trading Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. However, it's possible that one of them could be re-signed to the practice squad and promoted for Week 1 to serve as Love's backup in Brazil while Willis continues to learn the offense.

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