GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is getting removed from the commissioner's exempt list and will be eligible to play again Oct. 25 at Detroit.
The NFL announced Friday that Jacobs would be removed from the list on Monday, although the league's investigation of him under its personal conduct policy continues unaffected by the change to his roster status.
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Jacobs has missed the Packers' first five games and also won't be available for their Sunday night matchup with the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. The NFL started investigating Jacobs after his arrest in May, which followed an altercation with Jacobs’ then-girlfriend.
Jacobs’ lawyers — Clarence F. Duchac III, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard A. Schonfeld — issued a statement on his behalf following the NFL’s announcement.
“Josh has dedicated the last several months to bettering himself, and he accepts responsibility for his actions,” they said. “He is excited to get back to work and on the field with his teammates. Josh is grateful for the support he is receiving from his teammates, coaches, the Packers organization, and the greatest fans in the world. Since there are ongoing legal matters, he will not have any further comment.”
Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. The NFL placed him on the commissioner's exempt list on Aug. 30, shortly after charges were filed against him.
His status on the commissioner’s exempt list had prevented the three-time Pro Bowl selection from practicing or attending games. Players continue to get paid while on the commissioner’s exempt list. Upon request and with the club’s permission, they also can be present at the club’s facility on a reasonable basis for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation and other permitted non-football activities.
This announcement comes two days after Jacobs filed a lawsuit in Brown County (Wisconsin) Circuit Court against the Hobart-Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Department as he seeks to have evidence in his case permanently sealed.
When charges were filed against Jacobs, the criminal complaint against him noted that a surveillance video from the camera system in their garage corroborated the woman’s statement. That video hasn’t been released.
The victim in that case already had requested that the evidence be permanently sealed. Clarence Duchac, the lawyer representing Jacobs in this lawsuit, said in his complaint that Jacobs “joins and supports (the victim’s) position that the identifying, private and sensitive records associated with the underlying incident should not be publicly released.”
The complaint also noted that public sports figures have recently been targeted for robberies and other related property crimes, and that releasing the video would reveal details of the garage’s interior that might put Jacobs at risk.
Jacobs was arrested May 26, three days after police officers came to his Wisconsin home to investigate a disturbance. According to police, the woman told them that Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took her phone from her while she was on the ground.
Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel a bump on the back of her head.
Under an agreement Jacobs reached with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge against him can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble.
Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024 on his way to a Pro Bowl selection in his first year with the Packers.
Green Bay (3-2) has rushed for an NFL-low 60.4 yards per game so far this season while Jacobs has been unavailable. The Packers average 3.1 yards per carry to rank next-to-last in the league, ahead of only Las Vegas.
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