The Green Bay Packers are set for an important NFC North matchup right off the jump in the 2026 campaign, as they will open the new season against the Minnesota Vikings. When the Packers take the field, they will be without star running back Josh Jacobs, who is currently on the Commissioner Exempt list for his involvement in a domestic violence situation.
Jacobs has been accused of physically attacking his former girlfriend, which led to him facing a pair of misdemeanor charges that he recently pleaded no contest to. A suspension is coming for Jacobs from the NFL, but even with his legal situation getting sorted out, he has remained on the Commissioner Exempt list. Per NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN, though, Jacobs’ time spent on the Commissioner Exempt list could be applied to his upcoming suspension.
Josh Jacobs Receives Big Update on Impending Suspension
Jacobs was accused of attacking his then-girlfriend in an incident stemming from May 23, which led to his status for Week 1 being murky all offseason long. Sure enough, the NFL placed Jacobs on the Commissioner Exempt list, preventing him from taking the field to begin the new year.
Everybody knew a suspension would be coming for Jacobs, so this move wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but landing on the Commissioner Exempt list added some confusion to the situation. Namely, if Jacobs were to be suspended, would any games he missed while being on the Commissioner Exempt list count towards that suspension?
Once Jacobs pleaded no contest to his aforementioned charges, the expectation was that the league would remove him from that list and issue a suspension to him. Instead, he has remained on the list for Week 1, which has further complicated a potential suspension. According to Schefter, the expectation across the league is that if Jacobs gets suspended, his time spent on the Commissioner Exempt list will count towards that suspension.
While Packers running back Josh Jacobs remains on the Commissioner Exempt list, the NFL could count time spent there as time served for any potential suspension. Some league sources expect this to be the case in the end,” Schefter reported in a post on X. “In the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there is a six-game minimum for any type of domestic violence. It could be more or less, depending on mitigating factors.”
Packers Offense Must Find a Way Forward Without Josh Jacobs
All in all, this is a fairly complicated way to say that it seems like Jacobs is going to miss the first six games of the season, setting him up for a potential Week 7 return. Of course, nothing is finalized in this department, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the league make a final decision on a suspension for Jacobs at some point later this week.
In the meantime, MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, and Kaleb Johnson will comprise Green Bay’s running back room, with Lloyd likely to earn the lion’s share of touches out of the backfield. Against a stout Vikings defense, the Packers are going to need some immediate contributions from this group, so we will find out right away just how big of an impact Jacobs’ absence will have on the offense.
Packers Receive Critical Update on Potential Josh Jacobs Suspension