Who Should I Start? MarShawn Lloyd or Ray Davis

Monday, August 18, 9:51 AM

After leaving Saturday's preseason game in the second quarter, Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) is expected to miss some time, and his status for the regular season is now in question. Injuries have hampered Lloyd's young career. After taking only six attempts as a rookie, he had missed parts of his second training camp with a groin injury. In his preseason debut, Lloyd tweaked his hamstring and had to exit the game prematurely following a 33-yard catch. For the second year, Lloyd entered camp as the presumed backup to Josh Jacobs, but if he's unable to work his way back to health, that valuable role will go to someone else, as it did last season. For now, Lloyd should be considered week-to-week until further information emerges.

Saturday, August 9, 7:07 PM

With Buffalo Bills star running back James Cook staging a hold-in and unwilling to play Saturday, Ray Davis earned the start in the team's 34-25 preseason-opening loss to the New York Giants. Davis rushed for just seven yards on four attempts and caught one of two targets for another seven yards. As the Bills' emergency kicker, his most memorable highlight came on a successful extra-point attempt in the second quarter. The 5-foot-8, 220-pound Davis joined the Bills as a fourth-round pick from Kentucky in 2024 and was a capable reserve behind Cook as a rookie. Davis appeared in all 17 of the Bills' regular-season games and totaled 442 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 113 rushing attempts. He also caught three TDs and pulled in 17 of his 19 targets for 189 yards. With third-down back Ty Johnson also in the fold, Davis took around 25% of offensive snaps last season. That should be the case again in 2025, but Davis might have an expanded role early on if Cook is unavailable. While Cook seems unlikely to sit out into Week 1 over dissatisfaction with his contract, Davis figures to be the main beneficiary if he does. Cook missed one game last season, a 23-20 win over the New York Jets in Week 6, and Davis accrued 152 total yards (97 rushing, 55 receiving) on 23 touches as Buffalo's go-to back.