Jacobs

Josh Jacobs’ court appearance on two misdemeanor charges resulting from an alleged altercation with his girlfriend in May isn’t until Nov. 27. The Green Bay Packers, the team for which he stars at running back, will have played 11 regular season games by then.

That means the NFL will likely determine whether to let him play before knowing the outcome of his criminal case.

Jacobs was placed on the commissioner‘s exempt list, the league announced Sunday. He is not allowed to play or even practice — although he will be paid — and only commissioner Roger Goodell can remove him from it.

Former USC running back Marshawn Lloyd is expected to get the first shot at filling Jacobs’ shoes when the Packers open at the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13. Lloyd was a third-round pick in 2024 after leading the Trojans with 820 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and 17.8 yards on 13 receptions.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs during training camp in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

(Abbie Parr/Associated Press)

Injuries have kept Lloyd off the field for all but one game in his two seasons with the Packers. However, he has been healthy throughout training camp and worked with the first-team offense while Jacobs was slowed by a groin injury.

Lloyd will have competition. Shortly after Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Sunday, Green Bay acquired second-year running back Kaleb Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Johnson was a third-round pick out of Iowa, where he led the Big Ten with 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in 2025. He rushed for only 69 yards with the Steelers last season, seeing action mainly on special teams.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week that the team was preparing for Jacobs serving a potential suspension.

“We’ll deal with that when that comes, but we’ve obviously prepared for [a suspension] in case that happens,” he said. “But at the same time I feel really good about the guys we’ve got in that room, and I think we can survive that.”

The only other running back on the roster besides Lloyd and Johnson is Chris Brooks, who served primarily as a blocking back and special teams contributor last season.

Jacobs’ attorneys released a statement underscoring that the NFL is reviewing his case. The time spent on the commissioner’s exempt list would be counted toward any suspension, although he would have to pay back salary earned while on the list.

“Josh Jacobs has been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, which is an administrative procedure used by the NFL while a matter is being reviewed,” the statement read. “It is not a final determination. Josh respects the NFL process, the Packers, and his coaches and teammates. He looks forward to his return to the team and the NFL.”

Jacobs was formally charged Thursday with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property, stemming from the May 23 incident at his home near Green Bay. The Brown County (Wis.) District Attorney’s Office released an incident report that describes video footage taken inside Jacobs’ garage. A felony and four misdemeanor charges pertaining to domestic violence were dropped.

Jacobs and his girlfriend quarreled over content on both of their phones, according to the report, and video from the garage allegedly shows that Jacobs grabbed her, threw her to the ground and she struck her head.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Friday that he expects Jacobs to remain with the franchise regardless of the outcome of the case. Jacobs would be subject to a fine of no more than $10,000 and no more than nine months in jail if he is convicted.

Three months after Josh Jacobs was arrested on five charges relating to domestic abuse, the Green Bay Packers star running back on Thursday was formally charged with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property.

The Brown County (Wis.) District Attorney’s Office released an incident report that asserts that video footage taken inside Jacobs’ garage corroborates the altercation the alleged victim described. However, a felony and four misdemeanor charges pertaining to domestic violence were dropped.

Jacobs’ legal team led by David Z. Chesnoff issued a statement: “The Brown County District Attorney has reviewed evidence and elected to file misdemeanor charges against Josh that do not include domestic violence. The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media. Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney’s office and the process it followed.”

The report states that on the morning of May 23, police were dispatched to Jacobs’ home near Green Bay because of a disturbance between Jacobs and a woman described as his girlfriend.

The woman told officers she had a lump on her head as a result of a physical struggle with Jacobs. She said she became upset after looking through Jacobs’ phone and seeing he had been talking to other women. Jacobs had her phone, and she told Jacobs he could look through it, but when she tried to take back her phone, he grabbed her arm and she ended up on the floor.

According to the report, the video shows that Jacobs followed her to the garage. When she attempted to exit, Jacobs grabbed her, threw her to the ground and she struck her head. The woman lay on the ground before standing and walking into the house.

The report stated that a responding officer observed redness on the woman’s face and neck and felt the bump on the back of her head.

Retrieving relevant video from the surveillance system in the garage “was complex and took several weeks,” according to the report. Surveillance footage “corroborates the relevant portions of [the alleged victim’s] statements” that occurred in the garage but “does not depict any portion of the incident that is alleged to have occurred inside the residence.”

The day of the incident, Jacobs was charged with felony strangulation and suffocation, and four misdemeanors pertaining to domestic abuse. However, he was released from jail the next day because the District Attorney’s office said it found insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.

Three months later, that changed, although neither of the Class A misdemeanors filed Thursday mentioned domestic abuse. Jacobs would be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 and not more than nine months in jail if he is convicted.

“Our office sought to ensure a fair and complete review of available evidence, some of which only recently became available to our office due to significant, ongoing forensic efforts by law enforcement,” Brown County District Attorney David L. Lasee said in a statement. “A criminal complaint is nothing more than a written, formal accusation against a defendant alleging the commission of criminal offenses and does not raise any inference of guilt. Mr. Jacobs is presumed innocent of these charges.”

The Packers and the NFL both issued statements saying only that they are monitoring the developments and will cooperate with law enforcement.

Jacobs has been one of the top running backs in the NFL since he was drafted out of Alabama in the first round by the Raiders in 2019. He signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Packers as a free agent after the 2023 season.

Jacobs, 28, has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four of his seven NFL seasons and last year rushed for 929 yards despite missing two games with a knee injury.